


The Broken Hearted Comfort

by Lotornomiko



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Obsession, Smut, The rest of you recognizing true love when your head does not, some dub con elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2016-02-08
Packaged: 2018-04-02 07:35:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 51,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4051705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lotornomiko/pseuds/Lotornomiko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brand Spanking New Summary! Both hurting in a way that is a mirror of one another, a one time encounter quickly goes sour, leading to a lasting obsession. Not even understanding completely why, Hook finds Belle is that vital something he has been missing. It will lead him to do just about anything, even stage a rescue from the Queen's Tower. Too bad the object of his obsession proves less than grateful. Some Dub Con Elements, takes place before the curse is ever cast.</p><p>Old Summary: A what if story about two broken hearted strangers, meeting for a time, without ever knowing who the other really is. Parting after a moment of lust and despair, what will happen should they ever meet again? And after all is said and done, is it even possible for broken hearts to heal? Hook Belle, quickly goes AU from the show.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Standard Disclaimer Time! I do not own Once Upon A Time or it's characters. Nor do I make any money off of this story. It is done purely for entertainment purposes.
> 
> \---Michelle

It begins with a look, two pairs of eye meeting from across the bar. Neither one of them means to do it, but it happens all the same. Grieving blue meets a gaze equally full of sorrow, sparking reaction in the two. 

The woman is the first to look away, to glance down at the mug she's nursing. Hook stares at her a moment longer, then turns away with the startled realization that he KNOWS her. He might not know her name, or where she is from, but he knows where she spends her nights. Or at least part of them, Hook acknowledging that she's always at the tavern long before he arrives, and is probably still there long after he leaves. And always, she just sits at the bar, nursing the same drink, with the same despondent look in her eyes. 

It's a look he knows well, Hook having seen it in his own mirror. It's been reflected there since the day that Mila had died, the woman savagely murdered by her own coward of a husband. On that day, a part of Hook had died as well, his heart all but torn from his chest the way Mila's had been. 

His sole remaining hand tightens on his mug, Hook staring off at nothing with the memories. He doesn't realize that his grief shows all the more, or the fact that the woman is looking at him once again. Staring at him with an open mouthed recognition, sorrow eyed sympathy shown his way. She can't possibly know what he's been through, but she acknowledges it as a twin to her own grief. 

The woman quickly looks away, when she realizes he has noticed. Hook can't help but stare at her, wondering what--WHO had put that similar look of pain in her eyes. His own sympathetic gaze is cast on her, knowing her for what she is. A woman whose heart had been broken, just like Hook's had been. 

It didn't matter the circumstances of her situation. He wasn't looking to make a friend. Wasn't looking for anything except a minute or two of relief, the kind of peace drinks alone could not grant him. And yet he kept turning back to her, studying her, noticing things beyond the sad blue of her eyes. 

Like her hair, which was a rich chestnut brown color, full of long curls that were draped over the front of one shoulder. She wore a pretty blue dress, with white frills and gold lace. She had a shapely figure, and a beyond lovely face. She was beautiful, even in her torment, Hook wondering why anyone would ever want to hurt her and tear the smile off of her face. 

But he wasn't going to ask, wasn't going to even think of the potential reasons for her hurt. Because if he did, he'd want to kill someone, want to hunt down the monster who made this beautiful woman hurt so badly. And that was something he couldn't devote time or energy to, Hook having a mission, a single minded purpose, existing all on the desire to avenge his broken heart, Mila. 

He thinks of raven black hair then, of ivory pale skin, and piercing eyes that seemed to always see past his swagger, to the man Hook was---had once been inside. Mila, always able to make him feel things, exciting and new, revealing unexpected facets of Hook, still affected him now. But it was all dark in his head, his eyes a blue dulled with his sadness. 

Coins clattered on the bar's counter, Hook leaving his drink unfinished. He wouldn't even look again at the woman in blue, stalking towards a side exit of the tavern. It was raining outside, a cold spray heavy enough to send the townspeople all fleeing indoors. Hook lingered undecided for one moment, then steps out into the rain. Someone follows behind him, and Hook wonders who can be that foolish. Especially when they follow him into an alley, Hook turning, grabbing at an arm, then hearing a woman gasp. Hook might have gasped too, staring shocked for one moment, at the woman from the bar. Then reason comes back to him, Hook gripping her arm tighter, forcing a pained sound out of her. 

"Why did you follow me?!" He demands, his harsh sounding voice making her flinch for one moment, before she gathers up her courage. 

"I wanted to ask....wanted to know if it will get better." 

He doesn't have to ask her what she means by that, not when they match each other so perfectly in the pain that they feel. Nor can he give her an answer, any hope, Hook just shrugging back. 

The woman seems to deflate before him, as though what little hope she had been clinging to, has now fled. And still she is beautiful, even as the rain soaks her down, and plasters her hair and her clothes against her. 

She doesn't seem at all fearful that she is alone in an alley with a stranger. Has she gone stupid from the pain, or does she simply not care what could happen to her? But he knows the answer already, Hook too having long having abandoned caring if he lived or he died, simply existing instead. 

"This is no way to live." Hook mutters out loud, and the woman nods. But what choice do they have, when caught in the grip of their own private heart breaks. 

"I just want it to stop." The woman confesses. Is she starting to cry? But with the rain on her cheeks, he can't tell tears from drops. "I just want the pain to go away, to feel something other than this heart break." 

It is then that Hook realizes he is still gripping her arm, and that she's not even attempting to get away. In fact she moves towards him when he pulls, her head tilting back just enough to keep on looking him in the face. 

He's not the one she should be looking to for comfort. He can't even fix his own heart, let alone another's. Not with the pain still so fresh, so new. The wound Mila's death has dealt him, festers inside him, hollowing out his heart so he can feel nothing of love and hope and happiness. 

The grief that is so relentless inside of him, goes blessedly quiet the instant his mouth covers hers. It's not true peace he has attained, the kiss unable to keep his sorrow away for forever. But it will do the job for at least a few minutes, Hook realizing he wants to lose himself in this woman. And from the eager way that she is attempting to kiss him back, he realizes that she feels the same way. 

The kiss isn't anything like the ones he had shared with MIla. This woman more an inexperienced girl, than practiced seductress. She doesn't know at all what she is doing, but what she lacks in expertise, she makes up for in enthusiasm. Kissing with the same raw need, and desperation that Hook feels, wanting to know something other than the pain. Hook can only marvel at what a fool the person who had broken her heart must have been, the woman eager for kisses, for just even a little affection. It's downright criminal for one to have ignored her, to have refused lips as sweet as hers. It makes him want to teach her, to show her what it felt like to kiss and be kissed back. 

She makes a soft, startled sound, but doesn't outright hesitate when his tongue twines with hers. He makes his own groan of sound, deeply gratified when she laves her tongue back, the woman learning the play of it, and seeming to enjoy it. 

Hook enjoys it too, his hand letting go of her arm, to catch instead at her hair. Gripping it and her steady, then losing his own focus when her hands touch his sides. It's over his coat, and probably means nothing more than an attempt to keep her balance, and yet the mere idea of this woman touching him anywhere, makes him wild. Frenzied, Hook walking her back, pinning her against the alley's brick wall. 

Kissing her harder, then pulling back, his forehead lightly resting against her. Water pours off the both of them, the two staring into each other's eyes. Both of them are panting, their heavy breaths echoing oddly amidst the rain. Hook stares and sees not confusion, but a lost, helpless look, the same one that he is wearing. They both want peace, they both might want someone to share the pain, but most of all they both want this moment, the woman issuing out a breathy plea. 

"Don't stop." 

He couldn't, not even if she had begged him to do otherwise. He needed her, needed the comfort she could provide. Hook didn't care that this was insane, that this didn't solve anything, for him or for her. He just wanted, and as a pirate, he was used to taking that which he desired. 

It wouldn't be anything like she deserved. He couldn't, wouldn't show her the care a woman such as this needed, couldn't allow himself to make this moment into something more than it was. He was not some hero in a story, and she was not his happily ever after. Hook didn't even believe there was a chance for him, not daring to wish for more, to want for anything more than revenge and a quick death after. 

This time when he kissed her, it was almost angry but Hook didn't know who that feeling was for. Himself or for her, or for the things that could not be, the future they could not give each other.

 

His tongue harsh, his lips bruising, Hook kissed her as though he would devour the woman whole. She tried to match his pace, to match the near violent intensity he displayed, mewling sounds escaping out her throat. Her hands clutched at his coat, the woman feeling so small trembling against him, but ever so soft, so pliant. 

Knowing she had to be freezing from the rain, he STILL sliced through the laces of her dress' back with the hook that had taken the place of his lost hand. The dress didn't immediately fall down to her waist, too rain soaked to do anything but cling to curves he was sure was perfect. Hook nearly groaned with impatience, wanting her bared to the waist, not wanting to take the time to tug and pull down her tight bodice. 

It proved more than worth the effort, Hook rewarded with a sight that was glorious. Round, full breasts, with small but rosy looking nipples, the rain water leaving slick trails all along her freezing skin. He hadn't even needed to touch her, the chill making those nipples stand out. Greedy, he tasted one, his open mouth enveloping it fully. The woman seemed to jerk back in surprise, a hitch to her breath a moment before she arched her back and pressed her breast more firmly against his lips. And then she was moaning, Hook's mouth teasing, making the woman shiver and shake against him. 

Her hands went to his hair, holding, encouraging him. His hand went under her dress, kneading the inside of her thigh for just a moment. And then he was pressing his knee against her, forcing her legs apart, making her straddle him. She mewled, and tugged on his hair, forcing him up from her breasts so that they could kiss once more. 

Tongues seeming to duel against one another, Hook's hand dropped to the front of his pants, fingers more clumsy than they should ever be. Somehow without the aid of his hook, he got the leather open, his cock springing free and erect, and touching against her. She shifted to see, and that was when he tore off the voluminous amount of fabric that served as her under garments, Hook hauling the woman onto him. 

She cried out, her nails digging into him in retaliation for the hurt he had just done her. There was the pained glimmer of tears in her eyes, the woman looking almost betrayed. Hook wondered if that was the same look she had given the man who had broken her heart, then quickly shrugged free of all thought, not wanting to give in to anything like guilt for having hurt her. 

Keeping her pinned against the wall, Hook began to move. Not caring about her, about anything but the moment, and the fact that it was silent in his head. Revenge, Rumplestiltskin, even Mila was forgotten, Hook in the moment, his lean but powerful hips working. Forcing his way into the deepest part of her, feeling every inch of her passage work to expand and give way, and still remaining gloriously tight. 

He cried out, not recognizing his own voice. Not aware of anything except the all consuming lust that pitched through him, Hook feeling frenzied and feverish. Needing to come, and not wanting the moment to end, his hips bucking wildly, with little art or expertise, Hook bit down on the crook of the woman's shoulder. She cried out too, but he couldn't make out the words, his tongue laving over the bite mark he had left her. His good hand lay flat against the wall besides her, Hook ruthlessly driving himself into her, relying on the bricks to hold against their combined weight. 

Her nails were drawing blood, the woman's breasts bouncing with each thrust. He could feel wetness that didn't have anything to do with the rain or her maiden's blood, the woman's body at last accepting his, though it's attempt at preparations had been woefully late. Hook knew he should have helped her, should have eased her into her first sexual experience better. For that matter he shouldn't have taken her in some side alley, should have given her the bed and comforts a virgin would have required. A dozen more should ofs came to mind, and were quickly dismissed, Hook knowing it too late to change anything, even the fact that he was about to come, and she was not. 

His cock actually jerked inside her, his climax erupting harder than he could ever previously remember. He actually thought he saw stars, so dazed was he by the orgasm, standing there, going flaccid inside her. Both of them were breathing heavy, Hook resting his head on her shoulder. And as his breath began to even out, the memories began to come back. First trickling in, then becoming a full out flood, Hook remembering it all, Mila, Rumplestiltskin, the horrific murder of his loved one, the need for revenge. And besides it, was the memory of the woman he had just had sex with, Hook not daring to look at her face, not wanting her betrayed expression to add to his future torments. 

Not looking at her, he pulled out, and then set her down none too gently on her feet. He'd go to take a step away from her, and she'd sway, Hook spinning to catch her in his arms. It was an uncharacteristic moment, Hook feeling bad for what he had done, how he had treated her. He'd feel worse when she recovered, her hand slapping hard across his face. 

"Beast!" The woman proclaimed, hurriedly pulling up her dress a moment before she took shaky flight off into the night. Hook didn't try to stop her, fought even the desire to turn and watch her run away. His cheek hurt, the woman having struck him hard enough to leave a mark of her own. He deserved worst, his shaking hand touching first his cheek, and then his lips where the taste of her still lingered. 

The encounter had been a mistake, he was sure of it. One he wouldn't be repeating. With her, with any woman, Hook deciding this was the last time he'd be unfaithful to Mila's memory. It didn't matter that it seemed an unreasonable promise, Hook hating himself in the moment. Swearing off sex, off drinking, and off beautiful strangers who wore pretty dresses. Especially ones whose eyes were as hurt as his. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

To Be Continued...


	2. Two

He did not last even two days, before he was back at the tavern. Not even a full forty eight hours had gone by, and yet Hook was there, actively looking for the woman. She was not at her customary seat at the tavern's bar, the little stool having remained empty for over an hour. Nor was she at any of the tables, though Hook was sure many of the men here would have killed for the chance to have such a beauty join them. He couldn't blame them. Not when he felt similar. 

Hook could have laughed then, if only there was even the slightest thing amusing about the situation. But there wasn't, Hook dreadfully sober, driven to needs he didn't quite understand or like. But the fact remained, he needed to see the woman again. Hook wished it was for unselfish reasons, almost wished he was driven by the need to make amends for what he had done to her. He wasn't, Hook driven solely by the desire to find and fuck the woman, to have her bring him to that quiet place where nothing mattered except the few minutes of pleasure he got from pounding into her body. 

He needed that quiet almost more than he needed air to breathe. He craved it, any pleasure he could have gotten secondary to the blessing that a few minutes of peace could be. Now, with the memories haunting him, the dreams---nightmares bringing to new levels of intensity his grief, suffering and sorrow, Hook just wanted a break from it all. He wanted to exist for one second without the memory of Mila's eyes, and her brutal murder torturing him. 

Most of all, he didn't want to remember the way the light had gone out of her eyes, the life snuffed out of her before Hook could even whisper one last I love you. He wanted to forget completely, but was cursed to know that was impossible. That moment, and a hundred others, were forever seared into his mind, both the good and the bad times blurring together into one painful throbbing wound that festered even now. 

Unwell, he had latched onto the only port in the storm. To a woman who was suffering in a similar manner to Hook. He wasn't yet to the point of unhealthy obsession, Hook half hoping it had been a fluke what had happened. Half hoping but terrified to find out either way, Hook not knowing what he'd do if it didn't work, if the quiet didn't come. Worse yet was what he would do if it did happen again, and the lengths he would go to, to make sure it kept on happening. 

Not sure what outcome to pray for, Hook stayed seated at his corner table. It was in direct line of the tavern's entrance, Hook watching stone faced in the hopes that each arrival would be HER. It never was, another hour passing. His table became littered with drinks, all untouched. The tavern waitress could only shake her head in bemusement, not understanding the point to Hook wasting his gold on something that he refused to drink. 

It was a small price to pay, if Hook could remain in the tavern, the drinks just an excuse to keep the table reserved for his use alone. He had a feeling he'd be there for hours more, and yet still the woman did not show, Hook wondering why. Growing angry with frustration, and wondering how badly had he hurt her that she now chose to avoid the one place that they had in common. 

The third hour would see Smee's arrival, the short, older man making a beeline for Hook's table. He wouldn't wait for permission, taking hold of one of the drink mugs and plopping his fat ass down on the stool. 

"Her name is Belle." Smee announced before taking a big swallow of the drink. Immediately, Hook's attention was all for the red cap wearing man, anticipation, need stirring within him. "She hasn't been back to this place since." 

Hook frowned. Was he that distasteful to her, that she'd alter her nights, change her routine so completely? Even after she had liked his kisses, if not the outcome that they had led to? He nearly groaned out loud, Hook coming closer to realizing just how thoroughly he had botched things with her. Treating her little better than a whore, using her with no regard to the fact that before she had met him, she had been a complete innocent. 

"I'd ask what went on between you two...." Smee began, in between drinks. "But I hazard I can guess." 

"The details are not any of your concern." growled Hook in warning. "You need only to locate her." 

"Ah that..." Smee kept him waiting, savoring Hook's impatience more than the drink in his hands. 

"Yes that." Hook grit out, having to remind himself that Smee was useful and for that reason alone he should not kill him. After all, Smee had a talent for finding that which was lost. Be it information, items, or even people. 

"I must say, Belle is proving almost harder to locate than any information on your other quarry." 

Hook felt an irrational rage at hearing her name on Smee's lip. The older man seemed to read the anger in Hook's eyes, nervously setting down his drink. 

"I found a room." Smee finally revealed. "She's been staying at a nearby inn." 

Something close to relief starting to flood through him, and then the rest of what Smee had said, registered. 

"Been staying? As in she's no longer there?" 

"It's the strangest thing really..." Smee stated. "Seems she's up and disappeared." 

"Disappeared? Nonsense." Hook scoffed even as his stomach clenched in unease. 

"People are unexpectedly uncooperative, on revealing just what happened." Smee continued. "I've heard several stories, all remaining unconfirmed on just where she could have gone. Anything from her leaving to track down some beast terrorizing a town, to her having gotten a job cleaning for some rich noble." 

Both seemed equally absurd, Hook unable to imagine her as a hunter of monsters, or even as just a servant. 

"What do you believe to be the truth?" 

"Couldn't really say." Smee offered apologetically. "The only thing is, she left in such a hurry, she didn't take the time to gather her things." 

A spark of interest filled Hook. "They're still at the inn?" 

"Every last one." Smee confirmed. Hook abruptly stood, tossing enough coins on the table to cover the drinks. "Captain?" 

"Keep your eyes and ears sharp Mr. Smee." Hook told him. 

"That goes without saying. But..." A worried Smee frowned. "What do you intend to do?" 

"I'm going to do a bit of snooping of my own." retorted Hook, something that could almost be an unpleasant smile crossing his lips. 

Smee seemed to shiver to see it. "All right...but..." Hook gestured impatiently for Smee to continue. "Has....our focus changed?" He hastened to explain. "I mean....for over a year now, you've been obsessed with tracking HIM down. Now all of a sudden, you have me break from searching out info about HIM, to look for some girl? I just wonder why." 

"I think I might have lost my mind..." A wry look then. "Or whatever of it was left. But no, Mr. Smee. My focus remains the same. I will find the crocodile, and I will have my revenge. One way or the other." 

"But the girl?" 

"Have you ever been in love Mr. Smee?" The older man shook his head no. "Then you wouldn't possibly understand what moves me now." 

"I suppose you're right. But really...love seems to be nothing but trouble." 

"That we can both agree on, Mr. Smee." Hook said without any amusement. He'd pause only long enough to get the name of the inn from Smee, then hurry to it. Located a few blocks from the tavern, it was one of the more reputable inns. A finer class of building then Hook was used to staying in. Not that he couldn't afford such a place, but Hook had never been one for sleeping in such establishments. Not when brothels offered a cheaper and more satisfying solution to the one need he'd have for an inn. 

He couldn't even imagine bringing a whore to a place this nice. Hell, he couldn't imagine them renting out the rooms by the hour, not in a place so clean and well cared for. A family establishment, both in the people who ran it and the customers who used it. 

And yet the desk clerk wasn't above being bribed, not only telling Hook what little he knew of the woman, but letting him into her room. A few more gold coins got Hook the privacy he required, the pirate feeling like some kind of stalker as he moved about the bedroom, touching her things. She had enough dresses for every day of the week and then some, the woman clearly well off financially. He wondered about that, wondered about a woman that rich traveling on her own. 

She should have been surrounded by attendants, by servants and body guards. She should have been treated like a princess, not frequenting some tavern to fall prey to the first pirate that came along. Even if that pirate had been him, Hook knowing what effect he was prone to having on ladies. 

Frowning, he walked around her room, trying to learn more about her. Finding a surprising number of books, the woman well educated enough to be able to read. In the bathroom, he found her pretty blue dress, the laces still damaged, the skirts stained with some spots of her blood and his come. He should have cringed with guilt, instead a sensory memory came to him, Hook remembering how it had felt inside her, with his mind blessedly focused on nothing but pleasing himself. 

His fingers turned crushing on the dress' bodice, and then he abruptly jerked back as if stung. Stumbling back into the bedroom, knowing he would find no real clues, and yet lingering anyway. Ending up by the bed, pulling the sheets back, and smelling them. Smelling her, her sweet scent still lingering faintly there. It was different from the other night. Then the rain had clung to her skin, fresh and overpowering much of her sweetness. 

Inhaling deeply, the scent of strawberries and cream coming to mind, Hook groaned and laid down flat on the bed. Stretching his arms out, imagining what it would be like to have her resting against him. To have her in this bed with him, Hook actually showing her the care and tenderness a woman like her was entitled too. 

Groaning, Hook rolled onto his stomach. He got a face full of pillow, smelling the scent of her hair there. Another sensory memory, Hook remember when he had bit the woman's shoulder. She had cried out, Hook breathing in the scent of her hair as he moved his tongue over the bite mark in apology. But he hadn't really been sorry, Hook having worked on instincts alone. Now that he was here, and could think about it, it was arousing to think the woman was walking around marked by him. 

It'd be even better if she was here now, where Hook could look upon the bite mark with pride and possession in his eyes. Where he could cover her with similar, biting down on tender flesh to make her cry out like that again. Her cries of the other night seemed to echo in his mind, Hook shifting, finding his arousal reaching that uncomfortable state. 

There was no one around to see, to hear, Hook lifting up enough to get the front of his pants undone. He kept his face down on the pillow, nostrils flaring to get more of her scent. He really was going crazy to even think about stroking himself off in the stranger's rented room at the inn. And yet here he was, his remaining hand grabbing almost roughly at his stiffening length. 

A few strokes back and forth along his length, and his cock stiffened further. His fingers tightened their grip, his hand a squeezing fist. He didn't start moving his hips right away, just using his hand, a teasing he almost never engaged in. But he was too busy calling to mind the memory of that rain soaked night, remembering the kisses shared, and the sweet, enveloping heat that had coiled tight around his cock. Remembering the near mindless pleasure, and the way the woman had been crying out, the memory of her sounds goading him on, and then Hook was pumping, hips moving like a mad thing. Frenzied, frenetic, Hook trying to make his fist as tight as the woman's virginal body had been. Failing, almost cursing over the fact he couldn't replicate the sensations of her all too pleasing body, Hook was growling into the pillow one minute, then breathing deeply the next. 

Wilder yet, thrusting as violently as he could into his moving fist, Hook couldn't come fast enough. Literally, the climax drifting just out of reach, taunting him. He bit down on a pillow to hold in his infuriated scream, Hook half crazed and knowing if the woman were to walk in on him at right this moment, he'd have pounced on her like some wild animal. 

No worse than a wild animal, Hook having a clear purpose in mind. Throwing her down onto the bed, not even taking the time to rip her out of her clothes. Just throwing one of those lacy skirts over her head, finding the slit in her panties, and digging his tongue in. Working that muscle until she was as desperate with need as him, her body soaked in proof. 

And then later, when he had calmed down, when he wasn't so blinded by lust, he'd spend the time needed to learn everything about her body. To learn just how to lick her to make her squeal, to find just the spot to touch with his fingers that sent her arching off the bed. So many things to try out, Hook knowing every woman was different, and having enough variation in his skills to believe he could satisfy every single one, even one he had hurt, like he had hurt Belle. 

Belle. 

It was the first time he had actually used her name, and now it was like a mantra, whispered over and over to the pillow. He was sweating, panting, moisture beading on the tip of his cock. It was painful, the skin red and throbbing. He began pounding his hook on the mattress, tearing up the sheets. Shouting her name, hips giving a mighty seize forward and instant before he jettisoned come all over the sheets. 

His body gave a few more spastic thrusts forward, but there was nothing left to shoot, Hook empty for the moment. Empty in more ways than one, the lustful haze receding to the realization that he hadn't been thinking about Mila, about her murder, or about Rumplestiltskin. Not in the minutes that had just happened, or the time before it, when Hook had gone through the woman's things. Hell, even at the tavern, the instant Smee had announced her name, Hook had been too focused on finding her, to think about anything. Let alone let his grief and anger consume him. 

But now they came, brought to life by the mere realization of the lack of them. Catching him in their grip, making him rage, Hook choking back an infuriated sob. Wondering what was wrong with him, what spell the woman had cast over him to make him forget such pain when she wasn't even in the room with him. Feeling shame faced that just thoughts of her could make him so crazed, and feeling worse guilt as Hook realized he really would do just about anything to have her. To force her to stay by his side, and in his bed. 

It wasn't love. It was desperation through and through. It was crazy, it was wild, and yet she, Belle, made everything seem all right for just a while. For a man like Hook, who hadn't had real peace of mind in over many a year's time, she was everything that he needed. A need Hook was finding, that would justify any means.... 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To Be Continued....


	3. Three

His descent into madness wasn't a slow thing, Hook feeling as though he was plummeting headfirst into an abyss. To a place where rhyme and reason made no sense, Hook living on desires, on needs. Tortured by the lack of relief from the memories, from his grief, Hook was raging one minute, sobbing the next. Drinking, gambling, womanizing. Picking fights with both his crew and strangers, Hook not caring if they pounded him into oblivion if it meant he'd get even a single moment of blessed peace. 

Nothing was working. Even if he drank himself sick, the memories remained. If anything they came on stronger, Mila more vivid than he could ever remember her actually being. Their past colored with sorrow, even the good moments, the happy ones of which there had been plenty, ruined by the taint of her death. Her murder at Rumplestiltskin's hands. 

Already driven to desperate lengths in his quest for relief, Hook truly tried everything. Including sampling the finer selection of women in the port town. Whores and nobles alike, it didn't matter. He wasn't picky, taking what he could get, paying for what he couldn't. Hoping to find the relief that so eluded him, to prove that the woman, that Belle, was nothing special. That she hadn't become as necessary to his mental well being as air was to his lungs. 

How many women did he try, in the week that followed? How many failures left Hook despondent, disgusted with himself, and irritated that he had been driven to such lengths. But his whoring ways only proved one thing, proved that the time with Belle hadn't been some fluke, that she was instead a vital piece that he was missing. 

It was terrible, it was horrible, Hook feeling as though he had let that vital piece slip so carelessly through his fingers. Wishing and wondering what would happen if he had done something just a little different. If he had shown her the care she deserved, or if he hadn't let go of her that night, but had instead carried her off as spoils to his ship. If he got another chance, he wouldn't let her go, he'd keep her even if it meant making a prisoner out of Belle, his desperate need just as strong as any shackles that he could use. 

He didn't understand it, didn't quite properly know what was happening, what had tied them together. Had grief really been the draw, or was there something more at work there, something he couldn't quite fathom. It didn't matter. Hook knew what he needed, and was going mad with that needing of Belle. 

Driven to be with her, to be near her, Hook often returned to her room at the fancy inn. The desk clerk was only to glad to take his coins, remaining circumspect about the things that Hook did inside of Belle's bedroom. Those first two nights, Hook had spent reveling in the fading scent of her on the bed sheets. Feeling like a pervert, not just for that, but for the fact that he stroked himself off to unsatisfying climaxes, while crushing a dress of hers to him. Wanting Belle, not getting her, and feeling reduced to less than a man with this need fixating him to her. 

But he couldn't stop it, the absence of her doing nothing save to make Hook worse. He was spending more nights at the inn, than on his own ship, Hook lying in wait in the hopes that Belle would one day walk in through the bedroom's front door. He lived for that moment, imagining it. Fantasying about it, and the things he would do. Not all of them were pleasant, Hook sometimes wanting to punish Belle for running from him. For making him go through the agony of this separation. Those fantasies excited him, even the violent forceful ones, Hook not always in the state of mind to coax a surrender out of her. 

By the third day her scent had faded completely, the sheets smelling like Hook now. He kept on returning to the room, taking fitful periods of rest, but more often than not merely waiting, sleep eluding him save for the moments right after he spent himself on fantasies. 

A full week would pass, Hook having familiarized himself with all of Belle's belongings. Learning the kind of stories that she liked to read, the perfume and oils she preferred to use, even finding a pressed rose preserved between the pages of one book, it's color long faded. He wondered about that rose, wondered what it's significance was. And just as quickly knew it had to be a gift from an admirer, from the one who had hurt her in the first place. 

The rose didn't survive that jealous realization, Hook crushing it in his fist. A single thorn had remained on the stem, cutting into Hook's palm. He'd freeze and stare at the blood, ready to laugh when a loud and familiar knock sounded on the door. 

"Come in, Mr. Smee." 

As usual, the man had his red cap on. He'd take it in hand, nervously fidgeting with the knit wool as he looked around the room. Hook knew it was a sight, Belle's things littered about the place, dresses on the floor, books and trinkets on the bed. It looked like a whirlwind had torn through this place, but in actuality it had been just Hook raving wild. 

"Well?" Hook demanded, his voice sharp and strained. He so badly wanted Smee to deliver him some good news for a change, to give him the lead Hook was so desperate for. 

Smee nervously glanced at Hook. A mind reader was not needed to tell the older man was troubled by Hook's recent behavior. Hell, Hook was bothered by it too, at least during the few moments of sanity he was afforded. Moments that seemed to happen less and less, Hook running a hand over his face, and realizing he hadn't shaved in quite a while. 

"Did you find her?" Hook asked, his tone urgent now. 

"It seems we're not the only ones looking." Smee said at last. He looked as though he was bracing for violence, which wasn't all that unexpected given the way Hook had been acting these last few days. 

"Who?" A simple word that was snarled out with all the rage and fury that Hook could muster. Wondering, fearing it was the one who had hurt Belle who was also the one now looking for the girl. Fearing that fiend's intentions, and knowing Hook would steal her away no matter the danger, he was hardly relieved when Smee spit out just who else was on the hunt. 

"The Queen." Smee looked torn, as though he didn't know who he feared worse. Regina or Hook, and such was the evil queen's power, that the mere mention of her name might magically summon her before them. 

"The Queen?" Hook scowled. "Whatever for?" 

"That I do not know." Smee offered his apologies. "But the queen has offered a substantial reward for any information that might lead to a finding." 

Hook grumbled under his breath, hating that the situation had gotten worse. The Evil Queen was relentless, notorious for getting whatever she wanted. Belle was as good as caught, though Hook was determined to make sure she didn't stay that way. At least not with Regina! 

Hook began pacing with Smee watching him. A decision was being debated in the older man's eyes, before he finally sighed, almost sounding defeated when he did speak again. 

"There's more." 

Hook didn't stop, pacing about the room like a caged animal. "What now?" He demanded, wondering if something could possibly make the situation any worse. 

"Someone claims to have seen your girl leave the city on a wagon." Smee was careful not to say Belle's name, not after Hook had threatened to split his lip for any future uttering's of it. It had been completely irrational, but then Hook felt that way, irrational, jealous, downright possessive of any and all that had to do with the woman, and that included Belle's name. 

"And did they happen to say where that wagon was headed?" Hook demanded. 

"A city to the east." Smee supplied, not quite ready to offer even a glimmer of a smile. "It's a four day journey by wagon....we can be there by ship in less than two if we leave immediately." 

"Then gather the men." Hook told him. "We leave within the hour." 

"Right captain!" Smee said, putting his red cap back on his head. He hesitated when he noticed Hook didn't move to follow him out the room. "Captain?" 

"She'll be wanting her things." Hook decided. "The desk clerk shouldn't have any problems sparing a boy to pack up and deliver them to the ship." 

"Right..." Smee said, but Hook barely heard him. He was too busy looking around the room, tracing fingers over a dress of hers. Anticipating how she would look in it, and wanting, needing to see it in shambles on her body, Belle thoroughly ravished and disheveled by Hook. 

Even with such fantasies giving Hook reason to pause and sweat, he managed to get himself and Belle's belongings to the ship in just an hour's time. His crew was already in place, the ship set to sail at Hook's command. He'd give it almost immediately, visibly eager to get their travels underway. 

His crew was happy to set out, glad to leave the town behind them. People of the sea, they grew restless if they remained on land for much longer than a few days. Hook was the same way, preferring the sight of the open seas, and the fresh ocean breeze on his face, to being grounded on land. And yet for all his love of the waters, he felt elation when the town came into view. 

Barely waiting for the ship to be secured, Hook disembarked,practically leaping over the side railing to land on the pier's planks. Smee would follow at a much slower pace, and both men would look around with interest at a town they had never before been to. But they weren't here to sight see, Hook sending Smee off to do his information gathering. Hook himself would swagger into the local tavern and take up residence at a table. Hoping that perhaps Belle had resumed her nightly routine and had found a new place at this tavern's bar. 

It soon was apparent she had not, Hook wondering how many bars this town might have. Wondering if he and Smee would be doomed to visit all of them, and still find no word of her, when it happened. Smee ambled in, zeroing in on Hook with an uncanny precision. The man's eyes were wide, his face paler than normal. Hook knew then the news was bad, and he actually braced himself with a drink before Smee reached his table and did the same. 

"She has her." Smee announced. 

The glass shattered in Hook's hand, ale soaking into the cuts the shards had made there. "When?" He asked hoarsely. 

"Just last night." Smee said. "Captain, I am so sorry..." 

"It is not over." Hook said, than snapped loudly in insistence. "IT IS NOT!" 

"But if the Queen has her...." 

"Then we simply take her from the Queen!" Hook told him, and Smee look horrified. 

"Are you mad? You will get us all killed for sure!" 

"I NEED her." Hook insisted, his voice plain with his desperate need. 

"But why?" Smee asked. "What could she possibly have? You don't even love her.....do you?" 

"No. Of course not. But love and need are not always the same thing." Hook explained. "Nor can we always choose just where or who we will find comfort in...." 

Smee continued to wear that horrified, dismayed look, his head shaking no. 

"I won't ask you to come along with me." Hook said, then turned pleading. "I'll let you go just after you do me one last favor, and find out just where she is being kept." 

Smee's upset increased further, the man having pulled off his cap to crush it in his hands. "But Captain...I couldn't leave. Not after you've been so good to me." 

Hook snorted at that, and Smee turned insulted. "You have!" He insisted. 

"I've treated you like shit on the best days, and you know it." 

"And it's still been a sight better than what my situation was before becoming part of your crew!" Smee sounded earnest enough. 

"Then I shudder to think how bad off you were if that really is the case." Hook said, with the barest hint of a smile. "All right, stay with me to the bitter end if you like. Just get me her location!" 

"Right captain!" Smee said, putting his cap back on with a relieved look on his face. 

It wouldn't be an easy obtaining, many more days going by. Until it was nearly three weeks that Hook had spent apart from Belle, the hunt for her having served well as a distraction from his grief. Especially when the hunt began to bear fruit, Smee finding a possible location. The ship would travel there, another week wasted on the trip. Hook's sanity was practically in tatters, the man alternating between anticipation, and wallowing in those grief induced moments when nothing worked to keep him distracted. 

But finally he was before the queen's prison tower, the ivory white spire extending high into the sky. Belle was rumored to be at the top of that tower, held under lock and key, and guarded by no less than twenty men. Hook didn't feel the weight of those odds pressing against him, the man downright chipper about his chances. Downright lucid, thinking he could take on the entire world just so long as Belle was the prize, even Hook had to face the facts that he couldn't go it alone. Not in this. 

A small number of his crew was selected, his bravest and best fighters. Naturally Smee was left behind with the ship, the older man more apt to stab himself with a sword than any opponent he might face. Smee was more than fine with the role Hook assigned him, the older man acting as captain in Hook's absence. Keeping the ship ready to sail at a moment's notice, and expected to leave without them if a worst case scenario happened. 

The worst case scenario could have been anything from death to imprisonment, but for once fortune favored Hook. It was almost ridiculously easy to break into the tower, a bit of powder and explosives blowing the front door right off it's hinges. A bit harder yet was the actual fighting, Hook and his crew of half a dozen fighters facing odds that were three to one. There was more guards than had been anticipated, but with his sweet prize so near, Hook was undeterred, Downright feral as he fought, savage and dealing death to any fool guard who dared to cross swords with him. 

The fighting took place all along the spiraling stair case of the tower. There were floors with other prisoners, and even a guard's station about half way up the tower. Hook and his crew didn't bother with investigating those, ignoring the excited cries of the other prisoners until one man pointed out the validity of setting them free. Of how the evil queen would find herself busy trying to track down all the escapees, and thus might never realize the target of this prison break was in fact Belle. 

Hook leaped on the idea of it, eager to keep the queen confused and guessing. He sent his men to get busy opening the many cells, and continued on his way to the very top of the tower. Somewhere from below came excited cheering, the freed prisoners quick to celebrate their newfound luck. Hook nearly grinned, feeling a similar excitement, and anticipating the celebration he himself would enjoy soon enough. 

That almost grin and the head that wore it, was nearly sliced off, one last guard lying in wait for Hook. He just barely got his sword up in time, sparks flying as the metal of his blade ground against Hook's. A twist of his hand, had the sword turning, Hook shoving back with it. The guardsman minced a step back, Hook slashing diagonally towards his chest. The man just barely leapt back in time, Hook nearly stumbling as his sword sliced through air. 

Before he could right himself completely, the guardsman's sword slashed a cut across his back. The leather of his coat split open, the skin beneath only protected by the chain mail underneath his shirt. Hook could only silently thank Smee for insisting on it, the chain mail having saved Hook from an attack that might have proved deadly. 

Whirling, his hook grabbed at the blade, sliding up the length of it as more distraction than defense, Hook twirled his sword than stabbed it forward. The guardsman didn't quite deflect it, the hook twisting, gripping the sword effortlessly. Blood appeared, the guardsman wounded but not yet defeated. Kicking out a leg in a desperate attempt to knock Hook back, only to get stabbed in the thigh. 

The pained cry of the guardsman was followed by an angry grunt. The man knew he was defeated, and yet still he did not lay down his surrender. Fearing the Queen more than death itself, the guardsman all but threw himself onto Hook's sword, the blade's tip actually piercing through to the back of him. 

The guardsman gagged on his own blood, sword hand going limp, the blade clattering to the floor. Hook held him up just long enough to get the keys off his belt, then let him drop to the floor with a thud. 

Shaking the gore off his sword, Hook then slid it into the scabbard at his side. Feeling his heart beat quickening even more, Hook fumbled with the keys, knowing now was the moment where he would find out for certain if Smee's information had been correct. Anticipation filled him, even as he knew there was a chance Belle might not be inside the room, Hook finally on the fifth try, found the right key. 

The door did not so much as groan as he swung it open, it's hinges well oiled. The woman was not immediately visible, Hook noticing instead that the room was a windowless cell, with little luxury afforded to it. And then he heard a sound to the left of him, a gasp that drew his eyes towards the woman who was scrambling off the cot. 

Belle. 

Her eyes were wide, and even with her visible shock, the blue was dismayed. Clearly suffering a mix of surprise and a complete lack of wanting to see him, Belle's pretty little mouth was open. One look at her, and weeks of built up lust and desire came overriding what little sense and reason he had left. And that was before he noticed what she was wearing, the form fitting tunic that barely kept her legs covered. Her bare legs, Belle wearing no tights to go with the navy blue prison garb. 

Knowing it was woefully inappropriate, that the timing was all wrong, Hook still advanced on Belle. She tried to take a step back, but her legs bumped against the cot behind her. He didn't quite catch her, actually tumbling down with her onto the small, uncomfortable cot. Kissing her, his mouth hard and possessive, demanding. Ignoring the protesting sounds she made, pressing between her legs so that he could rub his half hard cock against her panties. 

Hook felt Belle's body jerk at that intrusive, intimate touch, but she had no where to go. She was trapped between his body and the cot, the woman gasping, protesting with dismayed sounds he was only vaguely aware of. His hook besides her on the cot, was digging into the thin, inadequate mattress, Hook knowing this was insane. He should be doing everything but giving in to his urges, especially here in the evil queen's tower. 

But Belle's lips were even sweeter than remembered, even as they refused to part willingly for his tongue. It didn't matter, there was other places Hook could kiss, so many spots to choose from if he only could have the proper amount of time. 

The hand that hadn't been taken by the crocodile placed it's trembling palm over her heart. One second to think he felt it's beats, and then he was pawing at her, kneading at her breast. Grabbing, kissing all over, hearing her take a sharp breath a moment before Belle screamed. 

The sound didn't quite jar him out of his fantasy, Hook still desperate for her. Wanting, needing, demanding, he thought if he only had her for just a moment longer, it might take off the edge of this all consuming hunger. A starving man that had gone too long without a meal, a tiny bite wasn't going to satisfy, Hook kissing Belle once more. Whispering feverishly, lips leaving a wet caress on the skin of her throat, Hook felt Belle shiver at the combined threat and promise of his words. 

"We will finish this later." 

One last resounding smack of his lips, Hook lifting his gaze to meet Belle's frightened one. Only to see her eyes flash at the sight of his tentative smile, the only warning he got before Belle hauled off and slapped him with all her might. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

To Be Continued of course....


	4. Four

The room that served as her cage, was bland in appearance. Drab gray as far as the eye could see, with little true color to be found. Furniture was sparse, a small wooden table shoved in one corner, a cot instead of a bed for Belle to rest on. There was a privacy screen allowed her, hiding her bath and toilet from sight. Once a day, a servant came, the same nearly blind woman, who didn't so much as look at Belle let alone speak. 

The old woman was the only contact with the outside world Belle now had. The only face she saw, the only proof that the world still existed outside this room. A room that was windowless, the recycled air stale and suffocating. A prison that was made to make that which it held, wilt like a flower. 

Belle was suffering, perhaps dying a slow death as the Queen's prisoner. Certainly she was losing her mind, Belle having nothing to do but sit or pace, endlessly thinking her thoughts. Wondering how her life could have been reduced to this. Wondering if there had been any way to avoid what had happened to her, or if this unsatisfying fate had ultimately been inevitable. 

Belle often thought about the what could have been's. The what if's that had centered around making different choices. Would she have been happier if Belle had stayed in her father's kingdom? Would her life have been more rich and fulfilling if she had married Gaston and had his children? Would she even have a chance for a family of her own, when the Ogres had been on the verge of wiping out her father's entire kingdom? But mostly, Belle wondered about Rumplestiltskin and the choices that she AND he had both made. 

There were so many what if's surrounding the man. What if she had never gone with him, which had been one that was easy enough to guess an answer to. But the others? Ones like what if she had never fallen in love with him? If she had never kissed him? If she had never allowed herself to believe there was a chance that he loved her back? What if he had never forcibly evicted her from his castle, what if her decisions hadn't landed her right in the Queen's trap. So many what ifs, leaving Belle regretting most if not all of them. 

Her thoughts weren't exactly charitable at times. Belle was after all, nursing the worst, the first, the only broken heart she had ever had the misfortune to receive. Rumplestiltskin wasn't the ideal man to have developed that bloom of first love for. What he had been satisfied to keep at a distance, had enraged him when faced with the power of true love's kiss up close. 

Belle didn't understand it. Why had Rumplestiltskin been so enraged by her love? Why had he flown into a fury, horrified at the kiss, at the chance to break his curse. Why had he valued isolation and power more than a chance at true love? Worst of all, why had Rumplestiltskin treated her so unkindly, his actions so hurtful, his words even crueler. 

Rumplestiltskin had set out to break Belle's heart, to thoroughly ensure that her kiss would never again hold power over him or his curse. And he had all but succeeded, Belle hurting and heartbroken. Not understanding what was so unfavorable about HER, why Rumplestiltskin hadn't valued her affection, why he had been unable to tolerate her kisses. 

Belle had had a lot of time to think. Perhaps more than was healthy. She had examined her every interaction with Rumplestiltskin. From those terrifying first days when he had brought her into his home, to the times after, where the love had begun to bloom, Belle having gotten to know him. 

Or so she had thought. Belle now knew she didn't really know him at all. She had seen the sides he had wanted her to see, hiding his foul deeds and dirty dealings from her. She had been privy to his beast, the side that had first terrified and intimidated her so badly she had trembled before him. Later yet, would come another facet, that of the quiet charmer, who shared many a conversation with her. Conversations which Belle had done most of the talking, waxing poetic about her expectations of love, speaking on the dreams she had had for herself. 

Rumplestiltskin had smiled and made the appropriate comments, but he hadn't really shared much about himself. Belle now wondered if he had been toying with her, using her as a moment's entertainment. While all the while, never dreaming that Belle's rapidly growing infatuation could one day prove a danger to him. 

Belle had been in the full bloom of love, imagining Rumplestiltskin as the dark hero in a fairy tale. Making assumptions about him, building him up to something he was not, only to be overwhelmingly crushed when he proved himself to be more unfeeling monster than loving man. 

The day she had excitedly gathered up her nerve to kiss him? It had been exhilarating, those first kisses. Sidling up shyly to him, inching closer until she brushed her lips over his. He hadn't kissed her back, but Belle had assumed it was shock that had held him frozen. Undeterred, Belle had continued, trying to kiss him, harder then. Feeling the tingles in response, the magic working, his curse ready to come undone. And then it had all gone to hell, Rumplestiltskin violently shoving her away. 

What followed was an all out tantrum of the most furious kind, Rumplestiltskin mad and raving like a lunatic. Actually pushing her down to the floor, throwing things, looking like he wanted to HIT HER. He never actually did, but she bore bruises all the same from when his hands had gripped her arm, jerking Belle up off the floor. Dragging her through the castle to it's bowels, throwing her into a dungeon, and leaving her there for days on end. 

Belle had been in a state of shock, not able to understand why things had gone bad like that. She'd be still frozen in disbelief when Rumplestiltskin finally came to her, telling her awful things. Mean things, hurtful things, cruelly setting out to rip her heart and her love to shreds. Belle's heart already cracked, began to break further, tears pricking at her eyes. And still she had stubbornly clung to her ideals, to her belief that her love could save a man who did not want to be saved. 

It had taken Rumplestiltskin bodily lifting her up, and throwing her to the ground outside his front door, for Belle to finally shake free of her shock. To finally walk away, even as she had expected him to call out to her. That final shred of hope had been waiting for Rumplestiltskin to realize his mistakes, to realize his love for her. 

He hadn't, and her heart had cracked further. It wouldn't break apart until later, until Belle had this endless time to think back and examine her time with Rumplestiltskin. But before her imprisonment, there had been that broken state of disbelief, Belle nursing the pain in her heart and unsure of what to do with herself. 

The only thing Belle had been clear on then was that she couldn't return to her kingdom. She refused to be known as nothing more than a self sacrificing martyr, a ruined woman who had given up everything to save her father's kingdom. The people there could appreciate her sacrifice, but would not want to associate with a princess who was fallen and stained in their eyes. 

There would be no happily ever after in her father's kingdom. Not for Belle. And the way that she had felt, nursing her hurt heart, Belle hadn't believed there was a happily ever after in any of the Enchanted Realm's kingdoms. But she had to try, if not to move on, then to at least build some kind of life for herself. So she had drawn on her inheritance, the money her father had set aside for her. It allowed Belle to survive, to wander aimlessly from town to town, until she could finally make some kind of choice over what to do next. 

She never figured out that choice, Belle mourning, suffering. Spending most of the evenings inside a tavern, nursing a single drink on the pretense of being near the people who partied there. Belle had thought if she was around happy people, maybe that feeling would rub off onto her. 

It hadn't, and not many had dared approach her, after noticing the pain in her eyes. She was left alone, isolated from the good feelings inside the tavern. Left to stew in her own misery and suffering, an outsider staring in, desperate to be a part of those happy feelings. 

That desperation wasn't only about wanting to be happy. Belle had wanted to be loved. She'd end up settling for less, for feeling something, anything, even if it was just meaningless sex. She hadn't set out to be used, just wanting to feel, wanting to know that someone else could appreciate and want her, find her lovely and worthy of their affection. The pirate had done just that, at least at first. She had followed him into the alley, not because he was handsome, but because he had worn a similar broken hearted pained expression. 

His blue gaze had been haunted, his eyes reflecting a heart that had broken so completely that she was surprised he hadn't died from the pain of it. Belle hadn't known her own eyes showed a similar pain, which had attracted the pirate to her. And when they had come together in that alley, he HAD wanted her. Had shown her the affection that Rumplestiltskin had denied her. The pirate had kissed and touched her, and it had been soothing enough to make Belle feel a fleeting sense of something. 

Any positive feelings or comfort had been dashed, the minute the pirate had so cruelly taken her virginity. It had been a shock of a different kind, a right slap in the face that had awakened Belle to just what she had been doing. And though she had cried out, the pirate hadn't stopped, hadn't even slowed his actions. He had just kept right on using her, thrusting with a near mindless abandonment, taking his own satisfaction and leaving Belle to feel dirty, used. 

Horrified, humiliated, hurt, all this and more Belle had felt. Foolish, stupid, Belle had slapped him and run away. Wanting to never see him again, barely able to look at her OWN reflection, Belle had felt sick at what she had let happen. She had made a vow then and there, to never again let that pirate, let any man prey on her weaknesses and vulnerabilities again. 

That night, was the very reason she had made a decision to go on the monster hunt. She was no warrior, but she had other skills, and the hunt seemed as good a thing to do as anything else. Besides it would have gotten her out of town, far away from the pirate and the humiliations, the memories of what had happened. 

Sometimes Belle wondered if she could have avoided ending up the Queen's hostage, if she had stayed put in that town. If she hadn't gone on that hunt. But the Queen HAD been looking for her, and the men on the hunt had been all too quick to betray Belle to the Queen. Those men were dead now, the Queen not trusting them to not spread talk about the captive she kept. It was why the servant was practically blind, unable to truly see Belle to describe her to any who might whisper about the beauty in the tower. 

The Queen kept Belle carefully guarded, out of sight and out of mind of all who might betray her whereabouts. Belle herself could not even scream, the room windowless and sound proofed, so that not even a being as magical as Rumplestiltskin would be able to find her. But Belle didn't entirely understand the point of this. She had no value to Rumplestiltskin, the man simply not caring. Belle knew that one day the Queen would realize that, and then Belle would most likely die on the Queen's orders. 

Belle's heart which bore many cracks and tears in it, all but fell apart in that tower. The woman expected to never again be free, to never again see the outside world, to breathe in it's fresh air. She certainly didn't expect to see anyone other than the near blind servant, and perhaps maybe the Queen. She most definitely wasn't expecting the pirate to come swaggering into her room, looking like some dark clad hero out of a less knowledgeable girl's wildest fantasies. 

Belle was downright shocked to see him, not to mention aghast. And yes, she could admit that the pirate was the most exciting thing to have happened to her in the weeks that she had spent imprisoned. But he was also down right scary, pinning her on the cot, kissing and pawing at her. Speaking words that seemed more threat than promise, assuming he had a right to what he was doing, what he wanted from her. 

Fed up and not about to take much more abuse from anyone, even a would be savior, Belle had hauled off and hit him. She had one satisfying moment after her hand connected with his cheek, Belle watching as his face was turned to the side from the blow. She might have even smirked, if she hadn't been so scared. 

But just as Belle was frightened, she was also angry. The pirate was the last person she had ever expected to see, and he rivaled Rumplestiltskin in just how much Belle had never wanted to see either man ever again. It was a toss up just who she disliked more in the moment, Belle all but hissing now. 

"Get your hand off of me." 

It was deliberate, the way he responded by squeezing her breast now. It wasn't quite painful, more intrusive then anything else he had so far done in this room. Belle bit down on her lip, refusing to give so much as a whimper in response to that squeezing. 

She also began shoving at his shoulders, trying to bodily push him off of her, when the pirate turned to look at her. If he had been shocked by the slap, he didn't show it now, his own dark blue eyes narrowing. Annoyance was among the emotions in his gaze, but there was something far more sinister as well. Something downright predatory amidst the annoyance and frustration. Something that made him seem like a desperate man with nothing to lose. 

"That's not a proper show of gratitude." He finally spoke, and Belle couldn't stop herself from narrowing her eyes in response. "Especially towards someone who has gone through a lot of trouble to find you." 

Several tart replies presented themselves to her, Belle unable to stop herself from being snide. "You have a twisted sense of entitlement if you think I owe you anything." Again she pushed at him, the pirate refusing to be budged. "Get off of me!" 

If anything he settled more firmly on top of her. "You didn't say please." 

Her lips pressed together, Belle stubbornly refusing to try the word out on him. The pirate made a tsking sound, giving her breast yet another squeeze. "Why are you even here?" Belle gasped out, and hated that she had let out such a sound. 

The pirate actually paused, looking thoughtful as though he had several answers he could give her. And all the while he kept on squeezing her breast, Belle sure she would be bruised there by his fingers. 

"Would you believe I happened to be in the area?" 

"Hardly." Belle scoffed, trying to shift beneath him. His breath seemed to catch in his throat, the pirate settling more firmly on top of her. 

"Clever girl." He murmured, bending his head to kiss at her neck. "The truth is..." He said in between brushing his lips over her skin. "I came here looking for you." 

"For me?" As surprised as she was, Belle was also wary. "Why?" 

Another squeeze of her breast, and then his fingers gentled, the motions turning kneading. It felt good after the squeezing, a sensation that Belle did not welcome, the woman trying to shift away from his hand. 

"Stop that!" She snapped, and added. "And answer my question." But Belle had a feeling he had already answered, at least in part. The way he kept pawing at her, it didn't bode well for her. But it was simply ridiculous that this man, this stranger, would be so obsessed with her, as to hunt her down for a second romp between her legs. 

"I don't know anything." She then said quickly. "I am of no value to you." Belle didn't even think to speak Rumplestiltskin's name, too busy trying to convince the pirate he was wasting time on her. "You and the Queen both waste your time on me." 

"You'll find the Queen and I have very different goals where you are concerned." 

"And those are?" Prodded Belle, trying to ignore the way he now licked at her skin. She couldn't tell if he was hesitating, not with his mouth and tongue so busy on her throat. "Well?" 

"Let's just say....you have something that I need." 

"And what could that be?" Belle wondered out loud. She sighed and shoved at him again, certain he wasn't going to give her a real answer. "You know, never mind. I'll say thank you for the rescue, but that's all you're going to get from me." 

He seemed to ignore this, his mouth brushing over her pulse point, then latching onto it with a suckling sensation. Belle gasped and tried to jerk back, finding one of his arms had slid around her waist. Holding her against him, Belle turning angrier yet. She'd actually start pounding her fists on his back, trying to beat him off, or at least knock some sense into him. 

She'd end up with her wrists gathered by his large hand. The only satisfaction she had in response, was the fact the pirate couldn't both hold her wrists and grope her chest at the same time. His hook simply limited him in his options, though the pirate didn't seem that deterred by this. In fact he was shifting, to better fit himself between her legs. Belle could feel the proof of how aroused he was, and her fright ratcheted back into the forefront of her feelings, the woman inhaling to scream. 

Just as she exhaled the first sound of that scream, another man ran into the room. She didn't know him at all, Belle not getting a good look at him right away. She'd actually hear his voice first, the man sounding annoyed. 

"Captain! We don't have time for this." 

The pirate, this captain, muttered out a curse. He also lifted off of Belle, turning to snarl at the other man. "Tell the others we'll be down soon enough. I just have to...." 

"WE?" Belle questioned sharply. "I'm not going ANYWHERE with you." 

He looked at her, and for one moment his eyes held surprise. Belle wondered if the pirate really thought it that simple, had really expected her to gladly go off with him to whatever molestations and perversions he had in mind. Belle almost snorted then, stubbornly lifting her chin, and restating her position. 

"I am not about to go anywhere with you, or continue this...association for any longer than need be." 

Belle actually expected him to make some threats, to swagger and say she'd come with him, or she wouldn't leave at all. Instead, with frustration blooming in his eyes, he stood, Belle quickly going upright with him. 

"I'm giving you once choice in this matter." He finally said, gripping her arm. "You can either walk out of here with me of your own volition, or you can be carried out, kicking and screaming the whole way." 

"You wouldn't..." Belle breathed out in a hiss. His expression turned hard, steely eyed. 

"Try me." He dared. 

"You are insane!" Belle exclaimed. "Thinking I would be grateful, that I would go anywhere with you after all that you've done." Her chin lifted stubbornly. "I'd rather stay the Queen's prisoner than go with you!" 

Belle barely got the words out, and already she was being lifted, actually thrown over the pirate's shoulder. Her mouth dropped open in shock, Belle speechless as he stalked out of the room. From lower in the tower, she could hear voices, the sounds of people cheering. Belle couldn't guess what was going on, but it galvanized her into action, the woman kicking and screaming just like the pirate had predicted she would.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

To Be Continued....


	5. Five

Hook hadn't been in the best of moods, when he had thrown Belle over his shoulder. Several strong feelings had been behind such an action, the least of which being impatience. Whether that impatience was stronger for the need to get free of the tower, or for the desire to bed the girl the first chance he got, Hook didn't know. Both seemed equally urgent, the lust that he felt for Belle, making him careless, downright foolish. After all Hook knew better. Knew that now wasn't the time to delay for anything, let alone the sex he had waited on for weeks now. 

His body didn't seem to care what was right, and what was wrong. That inexplicable lust he felt for the woman, those strong desires and urges, that NEED, was raging out of control. Leaving his blood hot, and his body hard. Every muscle rigid, Hook feeling the strain of holding back. 

It didn't help to have her so near. To have Belle draped over his shoulder, Hook feeling her soft breasts against him. To feel her squirming attempts to get free, the girl almost thrashing about, fists pounding on his back. Hook wasn't as annoyed by those hits as Belle would have him be, the man more than used to carrying off struggling females during his long career as a pirate. 

It was why his steps didn't falter, why he didn't so much as stumble from Belle's wild movements. And though his steps were a tad more careful than he usually took, Hook didn't come close to falling, or dropping Belle out of exasperation. Not even when she began kicking out her legs, shouting, screaming for help. 

"Afraid mine is the only help you'll get here, sweet heart." Hook told her, his voice carrying easily enough over her shouts. Her legs continued to kick, one nearly catching him in the face. That snapped some of his remaining patience, Hook slapping his hand against Belle's shapely bottom. Her screams turned into an indignant gasp, the woman shocked by what he had just done. By what he continued to now do, Hook unable to stop touching her now that she had given him a reason to. 

"Stop that!" Belle snapped, squirming even more. But she didn't try to kick out, perhaps too afraid he'd give her another slap. He would too, though Hook was infinitely more interested in curving his hand over her bottom. In caressing over that short tunic, it's hem having ridden up enough so that her panties were partially revealed. 

Nothing like the ones she had worn the night in that alleyway, just thin cotton, it was still enough to make Hook break out into a light sweat. He kept on feeling her up, rubbing his hand over and over that plush bottom. The panties were thin enough, that he could feel the heat from her skin. Practically thin enough to feel like he was touching her directly, Hook almost closed his eyes with a moan. 

"You will not get away with this!" Belle was saying. "The Queen...." 

"The Queen will have more prisoners to track down than even she can manage." Hook retorted. Indeed he could hear the celebratory cheers of the men and women his pirates had freed. Loud but starting to die off, as the one time prisoners prepared to leave the place of their imprisonment. 

"She's deluded enough to make me her top priority." Was Belle's answer. 

"And why is that?" Hook questioned, honestly curious. For all Smee's skills, the man hadn't been able to discover just what the Queen's interest in Belle was about. 

"It...it doesn't matter." came the hesitant answer. "It can't be worse than what you intend!" 

"You insult me." Hook muttered, and yet he was still caressing her. "I came here for you..." 

"And that is suspicious in and of itself!" Belle snapped. "Damn you, put me down!" She sounded almost regal, the way she spoke with such authority. But princess or peasant, Hook took orders from no one, continuing to carry and fondle Belle. 

It was clear the woman fumed in response to his ignoring her demands. Hook hid a smirk at that, his steps lighter for his amusement. Less amusing was that she continued to hit him, fists striking repeatedly at his back. But it was an annoyance he was able to endure, Hook more concerned with the feel of Belle's panties, and the fact that the woman wasn't acting at all grateful for his rescue of her. 

It was to put it mildly, completely, utterly frustrating. After all he had done, the lengths Hook had gone to, the effort put into planning this rescue? Hook had expected more than a little gratitude. And though he hadn't quite expected Belle to fall on him with open arms, neither had Hook been prepared for the slap, or for quite that much anger. 

It burned in a way that was different from the desirous fever within him. Yes, he had throughly botched that night in the alley, had treated her far too shabbily. Yes, Hook had hurt her, had introduced Belle to sex in one of the worst, most careless ways possible. But did she really mean it when Belle had insisted she preferred staying the Queen's prisoner, to leaving with Hook? 

It was incomprehensible, Hook not realizing just how badly he had scared Belle with his amorous stunt on the cot. With not just his molestations, but his blatantly voiced intentions, Hook both threatening and promising that they would continue such actions at a more suitable time and place. Intentions he fully intended to see through to their end, Hook wanting her and wanting her NOW. And just as sure as thinking that once Belle was made to understand the situation, and just why she should be grateful to Hook, the woman would get over any protests that she might have still had. 

He was more than a little delusional, far used to a different kind of woman. To simpering damsels in distress, or cunning shrews that were willing to do anything, everything to survive. Belle wasn't quite either, a woman ready to mold her own destiny with her choices be they good or bad. She wasn't content to sit back and wait, nor did she wish to be dependant on anyone for her future and her safety. Let alone the pirate who had so cruelly, carelessly taken her virginity. 

That night was weighing heavy on her mind, Belle unable to NOT think back to the way she had so stupidly given herself to the pirate. She could and had called herself a fool a million times over, regretting immensely what she had allowed to happen. What she was determined wouldn't happen again, regardless of the pirate's wishes, and the fact that he was still blantantly rubbing his hand over her bottom. 

Her face red from more than just her blush, Belle was angry. As well as scared. She knew at least one thing the pirate wanted from her, though sex was hardly what Belle considered to be the motivating factor of this so called rescue. There was little she knew for certain, but her suspicions had led her down a path. One that said the pirate had somehow learned exactly who she was, what she was, and intended to ransom her for a small fortune. 

He'd most likely get that fortune too. Her kingdom might be poor, her people might consider Belle a martyr and tainted by Rumplestiltskin, but her father, their King, LOVED her. He would pay any price, even bankrupt the kingdom further, in order to see his daughter safe. It was infuriating to think she was once again to be someone's pawn, the bargaining chip in which the fate of thousands rested on. 

It burned, the mere idea that Belle was once again not in control of her own destiny. That she had to rely on others to decide her ultimate fate. That she hadn't been about to get out of this tower, without someone, be it the pirate's or Rumplestiltskin's interference. In the moment Belle felt cursed by fate, unable to truly affect anything of any importance on her own. 

But she wasn't ready to sit back and admit defeat. She wasn't ready to be the puppet guided by someone else's strings. Belle was smart, she was resourceful, and if given enough time and tools, she'd find a way, escaping the pirate and his plans for her and her kingdom. 

Until then, she'd bide her time. Admittedly she was uneasy, downright fearful of the pirate's blatant sexual interest. He had already touched her far more than was appropriate, regardless of what had happened that night in the alleyway. His voiced assumptions on what he was expecting, was even worse, as was the fact he was using her precarious perch on his shoulder to fondle her bottom. 

In the time it had taken the pirate to carry her down three flights of stairs, Belle had realized the futility of hysterics. Screaming wasn't summoning any help, the guards, her jailors already dead. Whoever was behind the cheering she had heard, wasn't interested in investigating a single woman's screams. And kicking only got the pirate to do a hard spank on the very bottom he was now groping! 

Belle gritted her teeth, silently fuming. Eyeing the tower's walls, searching for something, even a torch to gather as a weapon. But the pirate was staying well away from the reach of the walls, far too experienced to allow her such an opportunity. He continued his impertinent touching, and then she felt, his fingers nudging under the band of her panties. That was the cause for Belle to forgot all about the reasons why she shouldn't kick, why it was useless to scream. She went wild, cursing him, calling him all manner of names, as she thrashed about, legs flailing, fists pounding on his back. 

She heard his own voice let out an exasperated curse, and then Belle was shifted. She didn't stop her squirming, if anything she fought more even as she was slid down the pirate's body. The instant her feet touched the stairs, Belle tried to spring away. Only to find the pirate grabbing her around the waist, jerking her hard against his front. 

His eyes which had been dark with annoyance, took on a different light to them. A downright hungry gleam, the pirate staring at her, pressing Belle all the more firmly against his body. Her voice took on a strangled note, Belle becoming aware of more than just the powerful build of his body. He was AROUSED, a fact that made her stomach curl in fear and distaste. 

Hook saw the way she reacted, felt the way her body stiffened in displeasure. But he couldn't stop a damn thing, let alone his own reactions to her nearness. Having her pressed this close was worse than when she had been on his shoulder, her sizeable breasts quivering with every breath against him. At least she had stopped her downright spastic flailings, Hook having almost dropped her by accident. That could have been disastrous, this close to the edge of the spiral staircase, with the long drop in which one could plummet to their death. 

As scary as the thought of dropping her had been, Hook couldn't fight the lust coursing through him now. The lust that made demands of them both, Hook staring down at Belle's face. At her lips, which had been the fuel of a number of erotic fantasies, Hook remembering the inexperienced but eager way Belle had kissed him that night. 

He nearly groaned then, but somehow stifled that sound from coming out. Belle guessed his intent from the look in his eyes, the way he leaned in, the woman starting to say something. It was lost when his mouth covered hers, Hook's fingers digging into her hip, his other arm locked around her in unyielding possession. 

It wasn't a complete relief to be kissing her now. Hook's urges were too strong for that, wanting, needing to be inside her. To sink himself fully into the treasured spot between her legs, to bring them both panting and delirious, every thrust burying him deeper. That need translated into the hard urgency in which he kissed Belle, Hook fighting the impulse to pin her against the nearest surface and take what he wanted. 

The dozens of reasons why he shouldn't be doing this right this second, were fleeing his mind. His focus was going, Hook more enamored with the sweet softness of Belle's lips. Of the heat that surged through him at the pressing together of their mouths. Of the feel of her light attempts to squirm free, her breasts rubbing over his chest. If he could, if he had the time and luxury, Hook would have devoured her whole. As it were, he kept telling himself just a few seconds more, prolonging the kiss, savoring it and her. 

Belle for her part was in shock, dismayed, with her fear ratcheting up a notch. As distasteful as it was to have the pirate kissing her, it was even worse for the fact she had almost responded. The memories of the kisses shared in the alleyway had risen up, Belle recalling how she had very much enjoyed that part of her encounter with the pirate. He had made her feel desirable, wanted, had awakened her to just how wonderful a kiss could be. 

But the memory of the pain and shame that had followed, the way the pirate had used her for his own selfish needs, also rose up, making her eyes water. The tears reminded her that he was not anything like the men she should associate with, that he was a cad and a villain. That he didn't give a damn about her, and was willing to do anything, even hurt her again, for his own lusts and desires. 

Belle's next impulse was to bite down on his lip, but thankfully a cooler head prevailed. She began thinking past her humiliations, her fears, to actually start to scheme. To notice things besides the kiss, and the fact the pirate was hard against her. She became aware of the fact he had things strapped to his side, a scabbard for his sword, and a smaller sheathe that was the size of about a dagger. 

With a look that would have been described as devious had the pirate not been so consumed by the kiss, Belle let herself soften. She stopped fighting, letting the pirate part her lips. His kiss in no way lessened in eagerness, but it became something more. Less demanding, less punishing, turning almost gentle. Coaxing, Belle fighting not the response she gave him, but the way her body so love starved, wanted to soften in acceptance of what the pirate gave her. 

Hook didn't know what to make of the fact Belle was kissing him back, save to savor the sweet response, the elation he felt at this unexpected victory. She tasted good, all honey and sweetness, her skin a creamy delight that brought to mind all the times Hook had spent pleasuring himself to the scent of it on her bed sheets. 

He didn't know what it was about Belle, what made him experience a lust like he had never felt before. A lust that was so consuming, it pushed thoughts and grief out of his mind, made him forget for a time his pain. It, she, made him wild, made him crazed, Hook feeling the roar of masculine satisfaction when Belle went from pushing at him, to wrapping her arms around his waist. 

Her delicate hands caressed over his sides, Hook thinking nothing strange of that. If anything he felt triumphant, assuming she had finally come around, that she had finally realized her position, and just who she should be grateful to and how. 

Hook's mood improved immensely, he didn't know the feelings going through Belle's head. How her heart hammed in fear and nerves, how her flesh goose pimpled, her hands practically shaking as she caressed him. She didn't go immediately for the dagger, continuing to kiss him, to let him think she was submitting. Her heart seemed to stop when her fingers closed around the hilt of the dagger, the pirate having let out a very feral sounding growl. 

Belle nearly collapsed in relief when the realization came that the growl had nothing to do with her attempted theft. The pirate was merely being vocal in his pleasure, feral in his need. Belle drew the dagger ever so slowly from him, keeping her other hand on him, caressing instead of shoving him away like she wanted to. 

Pocketing the dagger in her tunic, Belle wasn't prepared to use it just yet. Not until she was free and far from this tower. Not until she had money and a means to travel, Belle wondering what else she could take from the pirate. 

Belle let the kiss continue, knowing too break off too soon would rouse the pirate's suspicions. But the press of him against her, the feel of his erection big, bold, threathening, was more than she could take. With a gasp, Belle managed to break the kiss, wanting to slap him, and settling for turning her face to the side. 

He'd actually linger a kiss on her cheek before speaking her name in a questioning tone. 

"Belle?" 

It was then a startled realization worked it's way to the forefront of her brain. He knew her name, but she didn't even know who he was, a fact that put her at a slight disadvantage. Not that Belle thought it mattered what his name was, not when she didn't intend for him to be more than a road bump on her bid for freedom. 

"Just who are you?" She demanded out loud. He reacted with surprise, and then did a sheepish blink of his eyes. He didn't let go of her, practically breathing in her ear. 

"Forgive me for my lax in manners." Belle nearly snorted at that, knowing he had none. But it was distracting the way the pirate's lips seemed to caress the curve of her ear, Belle shivering from more than cold or fear. "My name is Hook. I am captain of the Jolly Roger pirates." 

If he expected her to be impressed by any of this, she was not, Belle quirking an eyebrow in derision. Hook, how quaint, how fitting a nickname. "Well, captain." She spoke out loud, voice seething in sarcastic politeness. "You'll forgive me this moment of insanity, for it won't be happening again." 

If she had expected her announcement to be cutting in it's rejection, Belle was sorely disappointed. Hook just smirked and murmured in her ear, right before he tongued at it, "We'll be seeing about that, won't we, sweet." 

Of all the arrogant, over confidant, pompous men she had known, and that was saying something considering Belle had been engaged to Gaston, Hook was in a category of his own. It practically rendered her speechless, Belle attempting to wrench herself free of his arms. She was made aware of how helpless she was in comparison to his strength, Hook holding onto her, until she stopped fighting. 

Grateful he hadn't tried to kiss her again, Belle could only stew silently when Hook slowly, cautiously let her step free. But then he took hold of her arm, his grip ready to turn bruising at the slightest resistance. Belle trailed behind him, glaring daggers into his back, hating how amused Hook was, and how he had smirked about the likelihood of another kiss happening. 

Determined for the kiss to not be repeated, Belle was sure she would do what was needed to protect herself and what was left of her virtue. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

To Be Continued....


	6. Six

The Queen's prison tower was not a place that was easily found, even for one of such skill as Mr. Smee. Located deep in mountain country, it was miles away from any town, from any known mark of civilization. Horses were needed to get to and from the tower, the sea little more than a day's journey away. 

It was a trifle unsettling, to be this far out on land. To be away from his ship, and the protection of it's cannons. His men were uneasy, far too aware of how easily they could get trapped on this inhospitable land. That unease was a palpable thing, unnerving the horses that they rode on, some of the beasts balking, just barely brought under control. 

The other horses seemed to thrive on the tension in the air, the creatures running faster. Hook was content to let the big, bulky stallion he rode upon have it's way, so long as the horse continued it's run towards the sea and not away from it. 

His men were somewhere behind him, some struggling with their rides, while others kept a careful grip on their muskets. There had yet to be any pursuit, but all were cautious. The Queen could strike at any time, could appear behind or before them in an instant, with an army to back her up. That she didn't was pure chance, the Queen simply not knowing what had gone on at her tower. It was Hook's hope that once she discovered ALL her prisoners had been set free, she would not know where to begin looking, let alone come after Belle. 

Hook still had not a clue as to why the Queen had taken Belle prisoner. Nor had he made much of an attempt to question the girl on that matter. Belle wasn't exactly being forthcoming with the details, save to insist that he, AND the Queen were wrong about her, about her value. 

Hook didn't yet know what the Queen was about where Belle was concerned, but he knew the beauty was wrong when she insisted she had no value. Belle was practically everything to Hook. He needed her in ways he himself did not fully understand. In that brief time together, Belle had become essential to Hook, for his sanity, his peace of mind. Alternatively, while his grief had become manageable, Hook wasn't exactly stable in mind. An obsessive type, for he had to be, given he had spent hundreds of years holding onto his pain and his need for revenge, Hook still didn't understand how he could have fallen so fast. How he could have become so consumed, so obsessed, so needful of one particular woman, in just a span of a few minutes time. 

Sometimes Hook was sure he had gone crazy when Rumplestiltskin had killed Mila. Or maybe it had taken a few hundred years, time after time spent on grieving, on hate. Whatever might have made him that way, Hook had become fixated on Belle, only acting crazier because of her. And it was crazy, to launch an attack on the private prison stronghold of the Queen. Hook and his pirates had only been back in the Enchanted Realm for about a year's time, but it had been enough to learn of the Queen's own power and misdeeds. 

And yet, looking at the woman who lay within the safety of his arms, her body nestled against him, her cheek pressed to his chest, Hook knew he would risk it all over again for Belle. Even as it rankled that she did not seem to understand nor appreciate the trouble he and his men had been through, the danger they had undertaken in coming to liberate her from the tower. 

Hook kept telling himself that soon, soon Belle would come to understand. That she would not only be grateful, she would be appreciative. Hook had to believe that, for else he didn't know WHAT he would do. Or what he feared might end up happening. The lust and his remembered fantasies, not all of them nice, came to mind, but the unease he felt over them now, was sated somewhat by the protective feelings he was experiencing with Belle sleeping against him. 

It was different from when she had been awake. When she had been sullen and tense, sitting rigid in the saddle, doing her best to not relax against him. She had barely talked, preferring to endure the ride in silence. A silence she had eventually got, once Hook realized the woman wasn't about to be goaded even by his more lewd comments and teasing. 

Hook had practically fallen off the horse, when Belle had fallen asleep, cuddling up against him as best she could. He instantly knew that this was an action she wouldn't have consciously done. Not at the moment, when all she felt was mistrust, and anger. But regardless of why it had happened, Hook was relishing the moment, enjoying the softness of her relaxed body. 

Perhaps enjoying it too much, considering how hard he felt. Blood surging to his groin, Hook did his best to ignore the unpleasant feel of an erection that had been maintained for too long. It was this side of pain, and yet Hook wouldn't have given up this moment for anything. Of course his erection wasn't helped by the fact Hook kept nuzzling his cheek against Belle's hair, not at all bothering to hide what he was doing from his men. 

His men didn't have much to say about what Hook was doing, at least not to his face. And they were making the attempt to avoid looking Belle's way, given how possessive Hook was being over her. A possession that had triggered in the tower, when Hook had come dragging Belle down with him. His pirates, greatly curious about the woman that had driven their captain to distraction, hadn't been able to help but look her over. Hook in that instant, had felt the irrational, insane urge to attack, barely controlling himself. 

He had actually growled, and stepped in front of Belle to hide her from sight of his men's curious eyes. And then Hook had shrugged out of his long, leather coat, insisting the girl put it on over that too short and leg baring tunic of hers. A tunic that wasn't made of heavy enough material to protect against the night's cold. Belle had to be freezing, even wrapped up in his coat. 

It was yet another reason to push the horses harder. To make them run to the point of collapse, forcing them to cut a few hours off their travels. Even as the horses grew exhausted, the night sky starting to break with pinks and purple hues of the barely risen sun, Hook could make out the mast of the ship with the sails unfurled. Smee and the Jolly Roger pirates had kept the ship anchored, but ready to fly like the wind at a moment's notice. 

Hook didn't allow himself to get excited just yet. Even with the faint smell of the sea in his nose, he knew they weren't safe yet. They wouldn't be until they were aboard the ship, and had set sail into deeper waters. He clicked his tongue, and used his knees to guide the horse in the direction he needed, Hook estimating they would reach the ship just as the sun crested high enough to chase away the remnants of night. 

From behind him came the cry of one of his pirates, but it wasn't one of panic. The man had spotted the ship as well, and was expressing his relief that they had nearly made it. Similar sounds came from his other pirates, the noise enough to rouse Belle. She shifted against him, but did not immediately try to spring away. Belle simply wasn't aware enough to realize just who she lay against, and why, and Hook felt jealous to think she might be dreaming that he was the man who had broken her heart in the first place. 

Hook wasn't that curious about that man. He thought him an immense fool, stupid for wasting his chance with a woman like Belle. He didn't understand how anyone could NOT have treasured Belle as the gift she was, yet Hook could also recognize how extremely lucky he was for that man's stupidity. After all, that man's mistake was Hook's salvation, and the pirate captain meant to not only claim but keep Belle with him. 

Once it would have astonished Hook, the idea of him wanting to keep ANY woman after the loss he had suffered with Mila. But he felt different now, having lost what was left of his good sense. Of what was right, and what was wrong, Hook practically forgetting he had no future, wasn't intending to live once he found and got his revenge on the crocodile. 

And then his private thoughts scattered, Belle having jolted awake with a gasp. Hook was ready for her, tightening his arms around her. Not to hurt so much as to prevent her from falling off the horse, the girl practically violent in her attempts to lunge backwards. 

"Careful, sweet." Hook murmured to her, giving her one of his more amused smiles. But his heart beat just a bit faster, and he wondered why. Was it the frantic look she gave him and their surroundings, as though Belle was considering making a break for it, even with the fact she was on top of a horse moving fast enough that the fall would most likely kill her? Or was it something else, something that had nothing to do with the danger she might pose to herself? 

Belle placed her hands on his forearms, gripping him almost as tight as he was her. "How....how much farther?" 

"Not much farther at all." Hook told her, nodding at something over her shoulder. Still gripping his arms, she shifted carefully, turning and getting her first sight of his ship. Hook sat a little taller in the saddle, proud of the beauty that was his ship, knowing it was an awe inspiring and majestic sight, with it's wood carved from enchanted trees. 

"So that's it then..." Belle murmured, almost too soft for him to hear. "That's how you'll make your escape..." 

"How WE'LL make our escape." He corrected her. She stared a bit longer at the ship, before turning back towards Hook. Her expression nearly unreadable, Belle had more questions. 

"And then what? Where will you---we go from here?" 

"Does it matter?" Hook asked, and she nodded. "We won't make for land at first. We'll lay low on the open sea. Perhaps a few weeks at most, but it might just be enough time for the Queen to forget about you." 

"She won't." Belle said, practically sighing. "Not so long as she continues to be misguided about what she thinks holding me will get her." 

Hook seized the opening she had given him. "And that is?" 

"It doesn't matter. She's wrong." Her expression remained flat, unreadable. "She'd have killed me when she realized it too." 

"If that's true, then you owe me for more than the rescue." Hook spoke musingly. It was the wrong thing to say, the wrong thing to so much as imply, judging by the fierce look she gave his way. 

"I'd hardly call this a rescue." Her tone was dry. "Not when you've abducted me for your own ends." 

"Would you really have preferred to stay in the tower?" Hook asked, honestly curious not to mention frustrated by her. 

"No, but..." 

"But?" He prodded. 

"I'd rather not be dependant on anyone...least of all you." 

Hook frowned. "I know I didn't handle that night as best as I could." He said to her. Emotion flared visible in her eyes, anger and hurt. Hook almost felt guilty to see it. "But don't you think you are overreacting to what happened?" 

Stony silence was all he got from her, the woman glaring. "You approached me." A frustrated Hook reminded her. 

"A mistake I will never get over!" Belle snapped, and the hostility of her tone was almost enough to make Hook flinch. He was also mildly insulted, truly thinking she was overreacting a tad too much for what had happened. 

"You told me not to stop." Hook said lowly. 

"And look what it got me!" 

"I didn't realize you were a virgin until it was too late." Hook told her. 

"Not that it mattered to you, once you knew." Belle grumbled, still maintaining her fierce glare. Hook could only grimace, privately agreeing with her. It hadn't mattered, Hook hadn't cared about anything but his own pleasure and satisfaction, not even trying to slow and gentle his actions to cause the girl minimal hurt. 

"I'm..." He swallowed, the words hard to get out. Hook wasn't a man used to apologizing, least of all about sex. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking...." 

"We BOTH weren't." Her look was sour then. "Regardless, that time in the alleyway should have never happened." 

Hook remained silent in response to that. Because he knew, KNEW, she was right. It shouldn't have happened. Belle's life might have been better off without Hook in it. And though he had saved her from the Queen, an evil that would have been searching for the girl regardless of Hook's involvement, Hook also knew he could offer her nothing. Nothing that was real, nothing that was permanent. If he had been a better man, a man that wasn't consumed with taking what he wanted, a man that wasn't driven by baser impulses, Hook would have set Belle free once they got away from these mountains. 

But he wasn't, and he wouldn't. He'd keep Belle with him right to the bitter end, knowing he couldn't offer her happiness, couldn't offer her a future together. It was purely selfish of him, Hook basically intending to use Belle as a coping mechanism and an outlet. And that knowledge of what he intended? It showed in his eyes, Belle staring at him frozen for one moment, before she turned away with her own gaze unsettled. 

Wondering what she was thinking, what Belle must be assuming about his intentions, Hook still couldn't muster up the nerve to ask her outright. They'd ride the rest of the way to the sea and his ship in silence, and then a welcoming cry would be heard. They had been spotted, the ship's lookout letting out such a loud exclamation that it alerted the other pirates to Hook's arrival. 

The men with him were calling back, already letting the pirates aboard the ship know of their success. By the time Hook pulled up to shore, the plank walkway had been lowered, several pirates rushing down to take hold of the horses. 

Hook slid off the back of the stallion almost before it had come to a full stop. Belle was reluctant, but allowed him to help her down, nearly falling against him before she got steady on her legs. He could hear the hush come over the crowd, curious pirates leaning against the ship's railing in order to catch sight of the woman who had driven their captain to take such risks. 

Belle actually seemed to shift closer to him, as though nervous of the attention she was getting. She didn't quite touch him, but she seemed to think him less a threat than the men and women looking at her now. 

"It's all right." Hook said softly. "They're just curious." He started to draw her towards the plank walkway, when the excited whinny of a horse was heard. Belle whipped around, a question voiced. 

"What are they doing with those horses?" 

"Setting them free." Hook hastened to explain. "We don't want the Queen to track them to the stable we borrowed them from." 

"By borrow, do you mean steal?" 

"I might." Was Hook's half answer. "The Queen is not known for her mercy. If she thinks the stable willingly helped us, she'd slaughter everyone tied to it, regardless of the fact they would not have known what we had intended to do." She looked surprised then, and Hook hid a smile. "I'm not heartless. I wouldn't involve innocents in this...unless I had too." 

His words didn't endear him to her, Belle frowning. Hook couldn't claim to understand her response, not knowing what was on her mind. He couldn't know she was thinking of her kingdom, of her father and her people and what Belle had assumed was Hook's intentions towards them all. 

Seeing she wasn't going to speak, Hook began urging her to walk up the plank with him. There was a slight tug of resistance from Belle, but ultimately she followed, the eyes of the pirates on them all. 

Once onboard, Hook could tell his crew was brimming with questions. And for some, like the women, they were oozing with curiosity about Belle herself. He could guess what they were thinking, what they were wondering about. What was so special about this girl, that she had driven the captain a little more insane, making him obsessed with the acquiring of her. 

"Get ready to sale!" Hook shouted. His words were both an order and a reminder that they couldn't linger here any longer than necessary. It jolted the crew into action, most running to their designated duties, ready to help the ship leave even faster. 

It took nearly ten men to lift the heavy anchor, their muscles straining, voices groaning as they hauled on the heavy chain. The sails already filled out with wind, quickly had the boat moving, Hook's second in command manning the wheel, using it to guide the ship past the rocky outcroppings that littered close to shore. 

Hook didn't linger to watch their leaving, already dragging Belle to his private cabin. As captain of these pirates, one of the privileges Hook enjoyed was having a room to himself. A large, nearly spacious room, filled with various luxuries and wealth. That was everything from chests of gold and jewels, to fine tapestries, and trinkets. 

Belle nearly jumped, when the door slammed shut behind her, hardly put at ease by Hook's smile and nearness. Her expression had turned frantic again, her eyes darting about as though looking for an escape. Hook had yet to realize the woman was rather scared of him, believing instead she was merely angry over what had happened between them. But he wasn't sure how to smooth things over with her, and right now, alone in his room with her, Hook couldn't think straight. Couldn't think past the fact he needed to kiss her, and had been hard for the better part of their escape together. 

"Belle, sweet...." He spoke in a husky tone, already moving to catch her around the waist. She immediately put a hand on his chest, clearly intending to hold him at bay. But that touch only goaded him onwards, Hook bending to kiss her. At the same time, his hand moved, fingers nimble as they worked open the coat, then eased it off her. Belle didn't fight it's removal, but neither did she assist. 

Neither did she fight the kiss, letting Hook have complete possession of her mouth. He groaned, agony and ecstasy mixing. And then he lost control, touching her all over, his hand groping, pulling at her tunic so that it rode higher on her thighs. His hook caught at the back of her tunic's collar, ready to rip it down and open. 

The fabric began to tear with a loud sound, Hook ready to gather Belle up and carry her to the bed when he felt it. Felt the sharp point of a weapon against his belly, the hand that held it shaking badly. Startled, he broke the kiss, and saw the look of determination in Belle's eyes. The weapon continued to press, the girl making her threat known. It was unexpected, it was surprising, it was absurd. Hook didn't know what was stronger, his urge to laugh, or his shock. But ultimately laughter won out, Hook realizing his kitten had claws.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

To Be Continued....


	7. Seven

There had been a moment, that rush of exhilaration, when Belle had pressed her stolen dagger against the pirate's belly. One single moment, where her anger and outrage overcame her own fear and uncertainties. A single split instant where Belle thought she'd do whatever she had to, to come away safe and unmolested, even if it meant sinking that dagger in, to wound, to kill if need be. 

That was before the unexpected happened, before Belle even considered the likelihood of her chances against a whole crew of merciless pirates. That was when Captain Hook's shock, a fleeting, temporary thing at best, gave way to unrestrained laughter, leaving Belle to realize the pirate did not at all take seriously her threat. 

Her cheeks actually flushed with color, embarrassed warmth filling Belle. There was no way to hide her reaction to his laughter, to the amusement he shook with. Not with her cheeks red, her own expression indignant. Worst yet, her hand was trembling, the dagger unsteady against him. 

Belle nearly jumped in place, when Hook's hand clamped around her wrist. She hadn't expected him to move that fast, nor did she understand he was doing it to steady her shaking hand. Steadying it because Hook had realized her trembling might very well cause her to stab into him, but by sheer accident. And for all his amusement, that was simply something that would not do. 

"Oh sweet..." Hook breathed out, his voice practically a husky purr. "You've got to be more serious then that." 

She looked confused, Hook smiling none too pleasantly at her. "You've got to be swift, and you've got to be certain, when intending to kill a man." 

"I..." 

"There's no room for doubt." Hook continued over her. "You have to be sure of what you want. No hesitating when the strike is there. Otherwise you'll be overpowered, disarmed, or worse." 

From the look on Belle's face, Hook thought he could guess what she considered to be the worst. But he knew she had no idea of how bad things could become, how bad things would have been if she had tried to bluff her way with drawn dagger on anyone else besides Hook. 

She hadn't released her hold on the dagger, even as Hook gripped her wrist. He could feel her shaking, could guess at the effort she was exerting to hide just how badly. Her eyes were expressive, like a raging storm of emotion. Belle was upset, angry to have been caught, stopped, even angered by his laughter. 

"Let go of my hand." Belle said out loud, in a steely tone of voice. "And we'll see how little I hesitate this time!" 

"Ah sweet, I see your time as the Queen's prisoner did little to douse out your spirit." Hook all but grinned at Belle. "But before you be gutting me....answer me this. Just how do you plan to fight your way past all of my crew? Pirates who are blood thirsty and sex hungry on the best of days, who will be wanting to avenge my untimely death?" 

Her face actually took on an ashen look, Belle blanching at the question. Hook almost felt sorry for her then, before remembering he was just as ruthless as any man or woman out on the ship's deck. 

"Of course..." He said musingly. "I suppose you could always fit through one of the portholes. You're small and slim enough. But providing you even know how to swim, there's all kind of nasties that lurk in the waters. Just waiting to take bite out of a delectable piece like yourself." 

If possible, her color actually worsened in response to what Hook was saying. Her arm's shaking grew worse, to the point Hook wanted to gather her close to him in a show of comfort. Instead he squashed such impulses, offering one more unappealing option. 

"And then there's always the Queen. As you have been so quick to point out, she'll be looking for you." 

"She'll be looking for me regardless." Belle spoke in a whisper, looking that much closer to being defeated. 

"I can make sure she doesn't find you." Hook said casually. Her eyes flashed with that, her spirit nowhere near broken despite her bluff being called. 

"For a price no doubt." 

"Just wanting my reward." Hook answered. 

"Your reward?!" Belle exclaimed, downright scandalized. "Even if I thought you deserved one, you expect too much from me!" 

"You gave yourself to me once." Hook reminded her. "Willingly, freely..." 

"And I have been regretting it ever since!" Belle snapped, with a shake of her head. She didn't seem to notice the way he frowned in response to her heated words, Belle simply that distressed. Hook was really cursing himself for bungling things with her, even as he wondered how in the world he was going to convince her to bed him without a use of force. Especially when pointing out that she owed him, simply wasn't working as a convincing argument. 

Finally his own curiosity got the better of him, Hook managing a soft, almost hurt tone. "Was it really THAT bad for you?" 

Belle gave him a disbelieving look, as though shocked he would ask her that. "You have to ask? Yes, you brute, yes!" 

Again he frowned. Hook remembered Belle had been able to walk, to practically run from him then. But now he wondered at how bad she had to have been hurting, if sheer desperation had led her to flee the alley, regardless of any pain she might have been experiencing. 

"I'm..." A hesitation, for it wasn't easy for him to apologize even it was deserved. "Sorry." 

Belle seemed to stiffen in response, but though she did not accept the apology, neither did she outright reject it. Hook couldn't leave it at that, his voice taken on a cajoling element to it, as he gave her his most seductive look. 

"Let me make it up to you." He said, watching her brow draw up in surprise. But her eyes were suspicious, the girl right to be wary. For the very next thing he said, almost as though Hook couldn't help himself, was a proposition. "Let me show you how much better sex between us CAN be." 

Her lips parted in shock, Belle seeming speechless in response. And then her gaze narrowed, not quite a glare, as she found her voice. "You, captain..." She hissed in frosty tones. "Are outrageously misguided if you think that is in any way an apology a LADY like myself can or would be willing to accept. I don't know what kind of woman you are used too, but you will find I am a different class all together." 

Now that Hook didn't doubt. Belle was different, not too mention proving far more difficult to coax into bed with him. Ordinarily he might be up for the challenge, but not now. Not when Hook had waited so long, fantasized for what seemed like forever, and lusted even longer. It meant he was short on temper, and even shorter on patience, squeezing down on her delicate wrist, until the woman let out a pained cry, the dagger falling to the floor with a muffled clatter. 

Her free hand began to beat at his chest, Belle having realized Hook was through with talking. And though he had physically just disarmed her, Belle had realized the dozen of reasons why she wouldn't have been able to go through with actually killing the man. Never mind there was no real escape for her, the simple fact of the matter was, Belle wasn't the type of person to kill another. And until she was ready and willing to do just that, any weapon she pulled on him, on anyone, would only be as good as her bluff. A bluff Hook had seen through from the start. 

"Unhand me!" Belle demanded. The demand lacked authority to it, her voice high with fear. She was battling her own reactions, her own fright over what was happening, what she thought was about to happen in just a few short moments. Most of all she was scared of the pirate, of the dark, hungry look he was giving her, of his masculinity, and of his intents. It was disturbing, that single minded focus he had, a focus that was fixated unwaveringly on her. Even as Belle knew of the dirty reputation that pirates had where women and thieving was concerned, a part of her, sliver small that it was, was aware that what was going on with Hook was above and beyond the normal way of things. 

She couldn't claim to understand it, and at this moment, Belle didn't have the freedom to try. Blatantly wishing she still had the dagger in hand, wanting the illusion of control it had given her, Belle fought as the pirate bodily lifted her into his arms. Hook didn't go so far as to throw her over the shoulder, carrying her instead close to his chest. 

Hook reached the bed in a few quick steps, and deposited Belle onto it's soft mattress. Before she could even think to scramble away, he joined her in the bed, his one arm staying around her waist. Belle was aware of saying things, making demands that went ignored. The pirate was simply too determined, too focused on his own needs and demands, to pay attention to hers. 

Situation unreal, Belle quickly closed her eyes to shut out the way the pirate looked at her. But her other senses were ready, picking up the slack left from her sight. She could smell him better than ever, a clean scent, with a hint of masculine arousal that seemed to grow stronger. Worse yet was touch, his face nuzzling the crook of her shoulder, so that she felt his soft lips kissing there, along with the raspier sensation of his beard hairs against her skin. 

Belle nearly jumped out of her skin when the pirate moaned into her shoulder, the sound so blatantly sexual. His arm with the hook was still around her waist, leaving his hand free to touch her. And touch her he did, skimming fingers from her collar to down between her breasts. Belle was sure if the pirate was to shift his hand just right, he'd feel the frightened, wild beating of her heart. 

It only grew worse, Hook touching her legs now. It was a full handed caress, palm and fingers called into play as that hand moved from thigh to knee, then back again. Each sweep of his hand, caused her tunic to ride higher, until finally she lay exposed save for the panties Belle wore underneath the prison garb. 

Her breath hitched in her throat, when he laid a possessive hand over her panties. Tears burned at her eyes, Belle practically choking on a sob. Her eyes closed, she didn't see the reaction the pirate had to that choked out sound, but she felt the hesitating quiver of his hand. 

"Are...." She could almost imagine him frowning. "Are you crying?" 

Belle said nothing, didn't so much as nod or shake her head. But she trembled, shaking and shivering though she was not cold. And then the tears were falling, the pirate having gently brushed his fingers by her eyes. Belle heard him curse, and when she dared peek open her eyes, she saw him staring not at her, but at his fingers, her tears glistening on the tips. 

Hook's eyes no longer glinted with that ravenous look. Instead the pirate simply looked confused, as though he couldn't understand, could not comprehend why anyone, why Belle might be crying in this kind of situation. Nor could Belle understand Hook's reaction to her tears, why they would affect him to the point he'd actually stop mid way his molestations. He'd actually frown, bringing those tear stained fingertips to his lips for a brief taste. And then their eyes would meet, Hook staring at Belle for a long moment, before letting out a stream of vicious curses. 

Flinching, Belle saw Hook react to even that. His hand would cup her cheek, his lips parting to say something. He seemed to think better of it, abruptly drawing back so that Belle was free of his touch completely. She quickly scrambled to put distance between them, not trusting him in the slightest. Her heart continued to hammer fast in her chest, almost hurting with it's frantic beats. 

There was another one of those moments, where so many things went unvoiced between them. Hook stared at Belle, actually looked her over from head to toe, his eyes showing the struggle within him. He still wanted her, still wanted to bed her, but was also disturbed by her tears. Belle made no attempt to wipe them away, aware they might be the only thing keeping her safe from Hook's lusts. 

Hook for his part, was shaken by the protective instincts that had been roused by the sight of Belle's tears. By needs that insisted he comfort not scare her, that told him to take her in his arms for no other reason than to hold and reassure her. It was weird and practically unheard of, Hook the type to ignore or laugh at weeping females. And yet with Belle, a few tears drops and he was undone, Hook realizing just how badly he was frightening her. 

That fright couldn't cool down the fires of his loins completely. Hook still wanted her, was still obsessed with Belle, with having her. But it no longer seemed appealing, to force his attentions on her so explicitly. The tears put everything into new perspective, made Hook realize how very bad his idea to show Belle by force how good sex between them could be, had been. 

It left him to feel downright embarrassed, but also angry that his fantasies weren't playing out the way he had imagined. That Belle herself wasn't acting the way he had come to expect, the way he needed her too. She wasn't supposed to cry, she wasn't supposed to be scared. Her anger while unpleasant, seemed infinitely more manageable, than this tear streaked girl who shivered and shied away from his every touch. 

When Hook had brought Belle to bed, he had thought it all but a given conquest. She would resist, but as he continued to caress, stroke and kiss her, her protests would melt away. Until she was panting with need, and all too willing to spread her legs for him. Instead the very actions that were meant to seduce her into submission, had only made things worse, Belle scared and CRYING. 

Hook still wanted Belle. Still wanted to do all the things he had fantasized about, to finished what he had attempted to start a few minutes ago. But he was also realizing it mattered to him that Belle not be scared, that she would enjoy and want him back. But it was adamantly clear that it wasn't going to happen today, or tomorrow, and God help him--them both, if it dragged on for more days than that. Because Hook felt near his limit, felt he could hold back for only so long, before he messed things up completely. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

To Be Continued....


	8. Eight

Her battered and abused heart beat a wild tempo in her chest. A beat so furious it actually hurt, or at least felt like it did. Belle clutched at her chest, her knees drawn close to her body, the woman huddling in on herself, hardly daring to breathe. And when she did, it came out shaky, a deep shuddery breath that worked it's way through her, the not quite sob giving voice to her blurry eyed misery. 

Even with a vision blurred by tears, Belle never stopped looking at the pirate. Never stopped watching him, wary of his every breathe, his every emotion, his every intention. It didn't matter that he had stopped moving, that Hook had gone so far as to turn away from her. She had been burned, made aware of his intentions long before he had tumbled her down onto his bed. It was an awareness given to her by him, the pirate Hook letting her know right from the start what he had wanted. 

It had begun in the instant of her so called rescue, her would be savior appearing in Belle's tower prison. She had barely begun to get over her shock, the sheer surprise Belle had felt to see the pirate again, when Hook had accosted her. It had gone downhill from there, her fright building, as well as her anger. Ultimately her terror had won out, the anger receding when all hope had seemed lost. It didn't mean it was gone, just that her blind panic was winning, Belle a ball of misery that couldn't stop crying. 

The beauty hated that she cried. Hated that she gave in to feeling so weak kneed and miserable. She felt embarrassed, humiliated by the tears, but Belle was also aware that they were the only things that had saved her thus far. And though she was loathe to give anyone the satisfaction of her tears, Belle would never ever forget the moment the visible pain of her upset had led Hook to stopping. 

The shock of that moment was seared into her mind, it and so many details replayed, remembered, felt. The clean masculine scent of him, the feel of his soft lips, the harsher rasp of his beard hairs. Most of all she remembered his hand, touching, caressing, finally cupping between her thighs. The thin fabric of her panties hadn't been able to protect her from the scalding heat of his skin, nor from the intrusiveness of his touch. Belle had been beyond hope in the moment, defeated, frightened, actually trying not to cry. That stubborn refusal had nearly cost her, her muffled sob the only thing that had inexplicably gotten the pirate to STOP. 

Belle couldn't at all claim to understand it, to understand HIM. Hook had already made it blatantly clear what he wanted from her, at least for the moment. He had been after it from the start, had acted like it was his God given right to get it. He had in fact expected Belle to be grateful, to the point she'd act accordingly and give over to his desires. And when that hadn't happen, when Belle had made it abundantly clear she wanted no part of his twisted idea of gratitude, Hook had tried to take it by force. 

That had been one of the scariest moments of her young life. A life that had seen it's fair share of terrors, from the ogres that plagued her kingdom, to the Dark One's more frightening moments, to even the Evil Queen's mad schemes. Hook had made her feel a loss of control like no other, the way the man wanted to use her so much worse than the Queen at her deadliest. 

And just like the Queen, the ogres, even the Dark One, Hook was unpredictable. Maybe even insane. In fact he HAD to be, because what kind of fool went up against the Evil Queen? Especially for a pay off that wouldn't amount to all that much, Belle knowing her kingdom was too poor to properly pay the pirates their ransom. Her father would try though, would actually bankrupt them all in an effort to see his daughter to safety. The kingdom would be ruined, Belle and her father hated. And though she had longed to be free, even Belle would not pay the cost of a whole kingdom for it. 

Belle wondered if she could even come close to making the pirate understand. She had no real value, and wasn't worth the trouble. To him and his crew, or to her father and their kingdom. And once the queen realized her folly, the woman would be glad to be rid of Belle too. The tears began to burn hotter, Belle remembering the Dark One. The assumptions the Queen had had, the mistakes she had made in thinking that there was anything going on between the beauty and that monster. It had all been one sided, a young woman's infatuation thoroughly crushed in an instant. Leaving only heart break and a bitterness Belle might never get over. 

If she was honest, her feelings of worthlessness truly stemmed from Rumplestiltskin. From his cruel rejection of her. That had been the start of everything spiraling out of her control, Belle trading prison for prison, with only her tormentor's face changing. Rumplestiltskin, the queen, and now the pirate. Each seeming worse than the last. Belle wondered if it would ever end, or if she was forever destined to be a pawn in a power struggle greater than her worth truly was. 

She wasn't in any way thinking clearly. Hadn't been for a while now. Her heightened state of panic, her fright, competed with her bone deep exhaustion, Belle not just tired physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. Only the fear of the pirate, of what he might do, kept her from dropping, from screaming and fainting. That scream nearly escaped her still, when Hook once again drew near. Belle flinched once, twice, then recoiled at the look in his eyes, the blue of them stormy with his displeasure as he cupped and caressed her wet cheek. A callous rough thumb followed the path of her tears, the smoldering heat in his eyes becoming something harsh and unforgiving. 

"Bloody hell." Hook spat out loud, and abruptly he was gone. The bed groaned in relief as the pirate's weight left it, Belle in a state of complete shock even after Hook had left the room. For the longest time, that shock stole even her ability to think, Belle unable to process what had just happened. She might have even fainted for a time, Belle numb to even that level of self awareness. 

She wouldn't even know how much time had passed, before Belle abruptly launched herself off of the pirate's bed. Her actions became automatic, Belle scrubbing at her face, and pulling at that too short tunic that passed for the Evil Queens idea of prison garb. It kept riding up on her thighs, despite her fingers best attempt to control it, flashing far too much of her bottom with every little bit of movement. That would not do, Belle snatching a sheet off the bed, wrapping it thoroughly around her body, so that she was covered from neck to toe. 

It wasn't much, but the sheet did go a long way towards making Belle feel marginally better. She felt shielded, as ridiculous as that was, because Belle also knew the sheet wouldn't make one bit of difference in protecting her from the pirate's lust. But she liked the lie of it, the sense of control it gave her, the sheet so warm and different from the skimpy clothing the Evil Queen had forced on Belle these past few weeks. 

She shivered then, the prickling unease having nothing to do with temperature and everything to do with what had happened to her. The heart break and tortures, the imprisonment, the loss of real choice. Anything and everything, and Belle didn't even know how much time she had lost! It felt like years she had spent inside that tower, with no windows or way to know just how much time had truly passed. It had been an agony, a small eternity of not knowing, and it wasn't just time she had lost, but the simpler luxuries of freedom. Fresh air to breathe, the sun and the sky to see, voices to hear. Belle closed her eyes for several seconds, breathing, living, just taking in the experience. 

She inhaled deeply, the fresh air wonderful and flavored with the salt of the sea. That same sea made the weather a cold, a chill permeating even inside the cabin. Belle shivered and delighted in even this, because it had always been a hot, stifling air that cycled through her tower prison. A stale air, recycled and suffocating, Belle opening her eyes and gravitating towards cabin's large window and the source of her pleasure. She made no move to open it, just staring with a sense of awe and wonder at the sight before her, the sea that stretched on for miles ahead of her. The sun that was working even now to gentle the worst of the sea's cold wind, it's bright brilliance lighting up the canvas that was both the sky and the water below it. 

It was more colors than Belle had been privileged to see, her tower prison a room of drab grays. The sky she saw now was all manner of blue, with faint lavender and the purest of white Belle had ever seen in a cloud. The sea below it wasn't a true blue, a sea green mix that sparkled white from the sun. Those waters rose in small waves that crested against the wood of the ship, their sound a gentle, persistent slap that was a magic melody all their own. A gull's voice cawed from up high, Belle unable to see the sea bird from the window's vantage. She also couldn't see those responsible for the many other sounds she heard, the people who shouted and laugh in a good natured manner, barking out orders, and working the ship to move. 

It was more sound than she had been exposed to in God only knows how long, and it was wonderful. For the moment it didn't matter that these people were pirates, that they would hurt rather than help her. Belle reveled in the sound of their chatter, pretending she was elsewhere, somewhere safe and with friends. 

She couldn't maintain the illusion for forever, Belle turning away from the window with a put upon sigh. It still came out shaky, even though the worst of her tears had long since dried. Her fears still remained, Belle giving a positively venomous glare to the bed. And a just as uncharitable thought to the man who that bed belonged too. But she didn't really want to think about Hook, not when remembering set her off trembling, the memory of the heat of his kisses and what he had tried to do, a sour note in her head that left her heart hurting bad. 

Worse yet was the awful assumptions, that damn gratitude that Hook had expected. Belle felt a mix of anger and disbelief, scoffing at the thought that she would ever willingly do THAT with him again. Even if he hadn't hurt her that first time, even if he hadn't been so cruel and single minded on his own lust and satisfaction. Even if he had made the sex as wonderful as the kissing, Belle wouldn't have laid with him a second time. Not when he had rescued her for his own sinister ambitions, intending to ransom her off and bankrupt her kingdom in the process. That was an insult she would not--could not take lightly, Belle as always ready and willing to protect her people from whatever threat they faced. Be they ogres or pirates! 

Of course this time she didn't have much if any bargaining power left to her. There was no Rumplestiltskin coming to save the day, and even if he had been so inclined, Belle had nothing he wanted. Her broken heart tightened in her chest, the familiar pain a bitter reminder of how big a fool she had once been. It still hurt, but she was resigned to it, Belle nursing the pain to fuel her anger rather than her tears. An effective coping mechanism she had learned to perfect while in the Evil Queen's merciless care. 

Using her anger, her resentments, her disappointments, Belle began moving about the cabin. It was a large, spacious room, as befitted the captain of a ship as big and magnificent as the Jolly Roger. It was also extravagant in looks, Hook a man of expensive tastes when it came to his furniture and possessions. Fine mahogany wood, brand new leather bound books, rugs woven of the softest materials. Gold and silver coins spilled in a careless fashion across a wide desk. Quills made of the feathers of the most exotic of birds, and fresh ink to dip them in. Brightly colored jewels, rubies the size of her fist, diamonds bigger than she had known possible. And all of it spoke of how ruthless a thief the pirate was. 

Convinced he didn't give a damn about anything but his own wealth and adding to it, Belle felt the fire of her anger build at the thought of Hook bankrupting her kingdom to keep on funding his expensive tastes and lifestyle. She was almost too angry to focus, Belle walking around, rifling through some of his things with the intent to find yet another weapon of some kind. It would be absolutely useless in her hands, Belle still unable to bring herself to kill anyone, but the illusion of protection it would give her would go a long way to comforting the young woman greatly. 

She found herself kneeling before one of several chests, Belle finding the lid opened easily. There was only more gold and jewels inside it, so she moved on to the next one. It looked familiar for some reason, Belle prying the wood open, and reaching to pull aside the fabric that lay there in neat folded piles. The woman didn't at first understand what she was seeing, Belle ignoring the clothing, to dig deep into the chest. The beauty stopped up short when she came across familiar book, Belle certain it was a coincidence that the pirate had a copy of her favorite bedtime story. That certainty began to slip, when she noticed the book was as a worn as her own, it's cover sewn back into place by a thick black thread. It's worn state didn't fit in with the new and well cared for books that she had seen, Belle opening the book, and caressing shaking fingertips over the inscription inside. 

It was addressed to Belle, loving words written by a mother long since dead. And then she was galvanized into action, Belle actually looking at the clothing she had set aside. Her hands shook harder with the realization that they were hers, all the pretty dresses and petticoats she had forced herself to buy after Rumplestiltskin had tossed her out of his life. She didn't understand why the dresses were here, even the torn blue one, and Belle could admit she wasn't sure she wanted to know. She began pawing through the chest and the ones next to it. Finding more of her books and belongings, from her hairbrush and ribbons, to the perfumes and oils that she had favored. Everything was there, not a thing missing from the inn, the pirate having taken exacting care to collect each and every one of her belongings. 

It was the first inkling Belle had that maybe something more was going on. That maybe the pirate had intended more than just to bankrupt her kingdom. But her mind wouldn't let her settle on what that other intentions could be, Belle refusing to so much as consider Hook had gone through so much trouble and risk just to have her again. It was simply a level of creepy she didn't want to dwell on, Belle disturbed enough by Hook and his lusts when it seemed just a matter of chance proximity. 

She began repacking the chests, though she kept one of the dresses out. The sheet still wrapped around her, Belle went to the door. To her surprise it wasn't locked, but then bitter understanding filled her. Hook hadn't left the door unlocked because he trusted her, but because there was simply nowhere for her to go. She was on a ship full of blood thirsty, sex hungry pirates, and that alone would keep her in place, effectively trapped for the time being. 

With a scowl that couldn't hide the hopeless, helpless look in her eyes, Belle retreated to the cabin's private bathroom. This door she made sure to lock, then quickly dropped the sheet. With a speed that impressed even her, Belle quickly got into and laced up the ribbons of a white and pale lavender dress. The skirts had a spring to them, the petticoat's ruffles filling them out nicely. It had a modest cut for a bodice, but even that little flesh on display seemed like too much. Belle quickly pulled the bed sheet back around her, covering up fully before she would leave the bathroom. She left the tunic from the tower on the floor, Belle never wanting to see that dark blue garment again. It wasn't the only thing she never wanted to see again, Belle remembering the sinister blue of the pirate's eyes. She shivered and clutched harder at the sheet, remembering the heat, the raw desire, the hungry, predatory look that had focused unwaveringly on her. It was a look she never wanted to be subjected to again, and yet it was a look Belle knew she would have to endure, the pirate too fixated on lusting. He was fixated on more than just looking, and Belle didn't know if her tears would work a second time to damper the worst of his ardor. It was a bridge she would have to cross and soon, Belle fearing Hook and what he would do to her in the time it took them to finally reach her kingdom. For now though, there was nothing she could truly do but take a seat by the window and wait. And hope that her unsettled, hurting heart didn't burst from fright. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

To Be Continued....


	9. Nine

A hush had preceded his stepping out onto the deck, his crew alerted to the fact that something was wrong the instant the cabin's door had been flung open. It hadn't been a particularly violent motion, but it was noteworthy all the same, that and the fact that their captain was out here at all. Hook felt the weight of their gaze, every man and every woman leaving a dozen and a half questions unvoiced, the nature of their thoughts easily guessed by the surprise they could not suppress. 

Knowing they wondered, even worried, Hook still couldn't stop the scowl from twisting his lips. It was a mark of both his embarrassment and his frustrations, Hook not liking the questions, or worse yet the assumptions that were being had. And he wasn't helping, his reaction only confirming what many must assume, Hook mad and lusting and it was worse because it was half true! 

"Quit your lollygag and gawking!" Hook barked in a strong, commanding tone of voice. "Get back to work before the winds blow this ship off it's course!" 

They reacted, the tone of his voice and the very real threat of the wind, galvanizing the crew back into action. It didn't stop the side glances, or the occasional whisper, but the men and the women of the Jolly Roger's crew were putting their all into making the escape as smooth a sail as possible. Hook nodded in a parody of a grim satisfaction he was incapable of feeling, the captain closing the door behind him with a firm click. That brought him one step closer to resisting the temptation to go right back inside, to go back and finish what he had been trying to start. One step closer, and it had been harder than Hook had expected, the lust he was feeling not something easily ignored. Even now he felt the pull of it, that inexplicable lust painting his blue eyes dark with a burning heat that was almost angry. And maybe he was just a little bit upset, Hook and his desires having been thwarted for too long, by the girl's escape, the queen's interference, by a month's long separation. But he hadn't expected her to cry! 

Hook didn't quite sigh, jaw clenching instead. He forced himself to move, to walk away from the cabin's door. He kept his head raised, maintaining as much dignity as possible in the face of what might just be his pirate crew's pity. He knew what they thought, and damn if he hadn't expect the same thing! Belle welcome and willing and oh so grateful for the rescue, that she would and did everything Hook could have desired. The things Hook had expected, the way he had fantasized, the man had thought three days or more would pass before the willingness to step out would even occur. Instead he was out in minutes, not even a full hour having passed, Hook the picture of frustration and not all of it was of a sexual kind. 

Walking over to railing situated farthest from his cabin's door, Hook found himself contemplating when it had begun to matter what Belle had wanted. Probably the instant he had realized she had started to cry, this brave, spirited girl given over to fear. The quiet tears had gotten to him, in a way all her anger and refusals hadn't, Hook finally realizing Belle was quite serious and that no amount of seduction was going to change her mind. 

It left him with quite the dilemma. How to get what he so desperately needed, without her tears flavoring the tryst, without Belle's fear turning what should be pleasurable for them both, into an ordeal. It was a problem he wasn't used to encountering, even the most reluctant of females turning willing, after just the right among of touching and kissing at Hook's hand. For Belle though, that had proved disastrous, her submission and surrender the farthest thing from being coaxed. That frightened response and the tears that went with it, was a concept most alien to Hook, the man having no real experience with a woman sobbing while in his bed. 

The sheer shock of it had not only taken Hook by surprise, it had gotten him to do the unthinkable. To not only stop, but to leave, Hook quick to put distance between himself and the object of his lustful fantasies. The memory of Belle's tears followed him over to the railing, Hook's fist gripping the smooth wood tightly. He stared out into the horizon, at the land that made up the mountain heavy continent that the ship sailed it's fastest from. Already the shore was being shrouded in mist, the forest a dark blob of color, with more mountains that any could count rising up out of it. This time the ship sailed away from, not towards, but nothing had changed. Hook was still desperate, still lusting and yearning, a million fantasies in his head, Belle starring in them all. 

Gloomy eyed and glowering, Hook felt the frustration well up inside him. It wanted out, and not all his thoughts were charitable in the wake of it's strength surging. Dark thoughts consumed him, ruinous desires making their demand, telling him to damn his conscious and take what he so desperately needed. What he had wanted for weeks now, what Hook had spent a month chasing after. He felt worse for even considering it, even as the frustration and desires warred inside him, telling Hook it was his right, his reward, that he had risked much and many of his crew to come after Belle. 

His hand clenched, knuckles bleeding out their color from the sheer force of his grip on the railing. Hook told himself he was better than that, that he had never had to really force a woman before. That he wasn't going to start now, no matter how much he needed her, no matter how much this desire maddened his thoughts and his blood. But a dark voice whispered uncertainties in his head, reminding him of how far he had gone, of what Hook had vowed, the man willing to do just about anything to take and keep Belle by his side. This dark thought tried to seduce him, asking what was one more evil committed against a woman who had become vital to the pirate? Hook felt the sweat bead on his brow, his hand fisting so hard the railing that it was shocking it didn't splinter apart from the sheer force in which he gripped it. 

The pain didn't help with the temptation the dark thought was entertaining, but Hook was thus far refusing. He told himself that as ruthless and merciless a pirate as he had become, that Hook still retained a single remnant of his Lieutenant's honor. He still had a code, weak as it was, that his own set of morals wouldn't allow Hook to actually force himself on a woman who didn't truly want it. And Belle, or more precise her tears, had proved just how much she had NOT wanted to be bedded by him. 

This time Hook did sigh, a deep exhale of breath as he forced his fist to relax somewhat. His hand still throbbed, the dull pain a reprimand to not do that again. Hook continued to stare out across the sea, at the continent that was growing more and more enshrouded by mist. There was noting unnatural about that mist, the billowing white called forth by the sea. Soon they would be lost to it, the Jolly Roger swallowed up whole in the same mist. The queen and her navy would not find them then, not even with all her magic called down upon the sea. The Jolly Roger's hull made of enchanted wood ensured that, it's magic the best when it came to hiding things. Not even a single whisper would travel past it's protective barrier, the ship and it's crew safe for however long it might take the Queen to forget about who had been lost. A single prisoner among dozens escaped, Belle just one face of many the Queen would be trying to find. 

Hook still had no idea what the Queen had wanted with Belle and most days he didn't bother to care. His own needs and desires had been such that they had circumvented everything else, Hook not bothering with the details if they didn't have to do with planning a rescue. Even now he couldn't muster up much curiosity, content for now to let Belle keep this secret of hers. Hook was much more interested in trying to figure out how to help Belle get over this irrational fear she had of him, and the sooner the better as far they all were concerned. 

Thoughts muttering in his head, Hook trying to think beyond this desperate desire, he was still aware of a nervous Smee standing off to one side. The aged and weathered pirate was nervously wringing his red cap in his hands, waiting to be noticed. Hook didn't immediately acknowledge him, inwardly sighing as he continued to stare out at the gathering mist. 

"What is it, Smee?" He finally asked with a put upon air to the words. 

"Begging your pardon, captain." Smee nervously spoke. "But we was just wondering..." 

"We?" Hook asked sharply. 

"The crew and I...." Smee hadn't truly needed to clarify. "Is everything all right?" 

"Everything is fine." Hook couldn't stop the bitter sound from creeping into his voice. "Just fine and dandy in fact." 

There was a poignant pause, Smee continuing to twist at his cap. 

"Get to the point, Smee!" Hook snapped, letting his irritation show. "Ask me what's really on ALL your minds." 

"Well..." Smee swallowed nervously. "The crew and I are just worried. After everything we've done, everything we've risked, and that includes you...why are you out here, and not with....." 

His jaw clenching, Hook continued to stare outwards. In his head, the memory of Belle's tearful state played out, cooling off the edges of some of his rampant desires. 

"Was....was the lady not grateful for the assistance you provided?" Smee cautiously ventured out. Hook's fist once again clenched on the railing in response, and he muttered almost too soft for Smee to hear. 

"Grateful doesn't begin to cover what she is." The captain sighed at the inquisitive sound Smee let out, the man not having caught what Hook was saying. "I am sure she is very grateful for the rescue." He said louder. "She's just not grateful to ME." Before Smee could turn completely outraged at that, Hook found himself confessing. "Not in the way I want-need her to be." 

Smee blinked slowly, as though processing this fact. "Oh?" 

"Normally that wouldn't be much of a problem." Hook continued. "But..." 

"But what?" Smee gently prodded. 

"But nothing." Hook growled, embarrassed. He let go and stepped away from the rail. Smee moved to approach him, but Hook waved him off. "Keep an eye on her." Hook ordered. "I'm sure THEY have no end of curiosity about her, and I've overwhelmed Belle enough today without those harpies getting hold of her." 

"Er...I'll do my best captain." But Smee didn't look sure of his success at that. Hook couldn't even manage a smile, walking grim face past the crew and the rigging, until he was taking the stairs that led below deck. He'd head to the ship's galley, the cozy kitchen domain of a pirate name Philomina. She was already in the midst of working several of the lads to help her prepare the evening's feast, tonight meant to be a celebration that Hook and his pirates had not only infiltrated the Evil Queen's prison tower, but had all made it back alive. 

Hook didn't feel much like celebrating, and it showed with his demeanor, the pirate captain grim faced and growling a barely audible hello. He ignored the curious stares and headed straight towards a well stocked rack of bottles. Hook pulled the largest off towards him, the bottle nearly filled to the brim with a pungent smelling rum. 

Using his teeth to pull out the cork, Hook began drinking down the bottle. Philomina raised an eyebrow in question at him, then came to stand right in front of him, when Hook tried to ignore her. Her slender arms crossed over her ample bosom, and Hook could hear the impatient tip tap of her foot as Philomina waited for an answer. Hook continued to try and drown his sorrows, actively snarling at Philomina when she tried to forcibly take the bottle away from him. 

It smashed to the floor, and Hook spat out a curse. "Damn it woman, look what you've gone and done! Wasting a perfectly good bottle of rum!" 

Philomina was without apologies, shaking her head and lifting a finger to wag in his face. "I won't have you drinking up what could be a months' supply of cooking rum in the matter of minutes! Now tell me what brought this on?" 

"There's nothing that unusual about my drinking." Hook protested, still glaring at her. 

"There is when you haven't done it quite to this excess in some time!" She dragged him out of the way of the kitchen help, a young man that was almost too old to still be nothing but a cabin boy, coming to clean the mess. Not all of the rum had ended up on the floor, a good portion of it remaining untouched inside the bottom half of the bottle that had fortunately not broken. 

"Now tell me what you're on about, that you'd break nearly a month's long sobriety for!" 

That drew Hook up short, the man blinking as he asked, "Has it really been that long?" 

Philomina gave a firm nod, her shrewd eyes calculating. "I dare say just about. Not since that girl, that Belle, has twisted you up in knots." 

Belle still had him twisted up in knots, lust, dark urges, and guilt at war inside him. Hook turned away from Philomina, desperate for another drink even as he recognized it wasn't a good idea to get drunk until after things had been resolved in a favorable way with Belle. 

"Well?" He heard Philomina say, and then the kitchen master sighed. "Why are you even here, and not with that girl, the one you risked so much for?" 

Not wanting to broadcast his failings to the entire kitchen, Hook fixed Philomina with a pointed look. She took to it immediately, clapping her hands, and ordering everyone out of the kitchen. 

"There. That's bought us a measure of privacy." 

"Only for as much as the door will shut out sound." Hook grumbled, sure more than one of the lads had their ears pressed against the crack of the wood door. 

"Then be sure to speak softly now." Philomina advised, without lowering her own voice. 

Hook frowned, but ultimately Philomina got her way, the pirate captain feeling the need to unburden himself to the older woman. "She cried." His hushed confession drew a raised brow from the cook, Philomina waving at him to go on. "She wants little to do with me...no less than little, she wants nothing." 

"Nothing?" Philomina looked in doubt of that. "Now that I find hard to believe." 

"It's true!" Hook insisted heatedly. "I'm the last person Belle has ever wanted to see again, never mind be grateful to. She despises me." The last was admitted with some measure of despair, and Philomina considered carefully what Hook had just said. 

"Come now, that can't be true." Her lips twitched with some trace of a humor, Philomina not yet at that place of believing. "Not of the great Captain Hook. Why I dare say NO woman could truly resist you. No woman in her right mind at least." 

Hook shook his head, not willing to let the cook build up his hopes. Philomina made a valiant effort all the same, nudging Hook with her shoulder, as she threw up something for him to consider. 

"Are you sure the girl is not just playing hard to get?" Philomina wanted to know. "Wanting to be properly courted and all that?" 

"No." 

"You say it with such certainty." Philomina noted. "But..." 

"She CRIED. It wasn't a ploy, and it was in no way tears of joy. She wasn't at all happy about her position..." 

"And what position was that?" Philomina tried to be teasing, then sighed at Hook's stony expression. "Just what went on between you two?" Her gaze was a searching one, catching the flinch Hook tried to suppress. "Just what did you do to her?" 

The pirate didn't want to share the explicit details of just how badly he had bungled Belle's first sexual experience. Hell, he didn't want to admit to much of anything, Hook embarrassed and ashamed, and knowing there was no one to really blame but himself. He should have known from the second she had kissed him, just how inexperienced Belle had been. But he hadn't cared to notice, too lost in his own misery and seeking relief, actively reaching for it, greedily taking her for his own satisfaction. He wasn't ever meant to be sorry, and she wasn't ever meant to be anything more than a quick romp in an alley. He hadn't expected Belle to mean more, to become something vital, but she had and she was, Hook reaping the disaster he had sown. 

His face showed the turmoil of his thoughts, Philomina becoming close to sympathetic. "Captain..." She said, and raised her hand. He thought she was going to caress his cheek, instead Philomina slapped his face. 

"Hey!" 

"Men!" She sneered. "Sometimes you ALL Need a good slap." She sighed then. "That poor girl, what bad luck she has had. Getting caught up with the likes of you, and in THAT way." 

"I don't like what you're imagining." Hook muttered angrily. 

"Dislike it all you want, I'm going to keep thinking it until someone tells me otherwise." Philomina insisted. 

"It's not what you think and you know it!" It was WORSE. And he couldn't bring himself to confess to it. Not to Philomina, maybe not to Smee, and certainly not to the rest of a crew who had been through so much because of Hook. The Dark One, the dangers of Neverland, and now a ruthless and Evil Queen. Hook just kept getting them more and more into trouble, and a less loyal crew would have mutinied by now. 

But they were loyal, some would say to a fault, Hook grateful for the lengths most of his crew would go to for him. They weren't always capable of patience, but when push came to shove they stuck together. They were more than friends, and they were more than family, bonded together from several lifetimes worth of adventure. They wanted the best for each other, even a captain they knew wasn't well, his crew going to such lengths for him on this, on what they hoped Belle would prove to be, wanting an end to Hook's madness, to the vengeance that had fueled him for three hundred and something years. 

Hook knew what they saw when they looked at Belle. They saw his salvation, the crew hoping the woman would be more than just a distraction but an end to his questing against the Dark One. But nothing had changed, and Hook hadn't yet been able to admit that out loud. Belle might be more than a distraction, but ultimately she wouldn't stop him from his suicide run. She was a coping mechanism, the first real and lasting relief that Hook has been able to find. He didn't understand why she was special, why she made the grief go blessedly quiet in his head for longer than a few seconds, but she was precious to him all the same. 

A precious commodity, it had all been left to chance. He might never have met her, might never have fucked her. Might never have discovered the lasting effects Belle had on him. She might have been better off without him, but then again Belle might not have. The Queen had been after her regardless of Hook's intentions, and the pirate wanted to believe he was helping to make Belle's life better by taking her with him. He just wished she hadn't cried, that Belle hadn't been made to feel so terrified and traumatized by her past experience with him. 

It left him wishing he could do it over, that he could change how it had first happened between them. Hook couldn't, and Belle wasn't making it easier for a second time to happen. Hook wanted so badly to show her the things he hadn't bothered with before, to introduce to the pleasures, to the sensations Belle had no idea she was capable of feeling. He wanted to go to painstaking lengths to show her each and every enjoyable facet of sex, make her cry out and scream not with pain, but with pleasure. He wanted to teach her to savor what a man could do to a woman, wanted to watch and feel her come around him. 

He wanted so many things where Belle and pleasure were concerned. It was cold hard fact that those wants were going to be denied maybe for forever, maybe for just now. Either way Hook had to be patient, and try not to mess things up any further than he already had. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

To Be Continued...


	10. Ten

A poor, harried Smee was the sight that greeted Hook upon the captain's return topside, the older man heated, as he fended off a group of three women. It hadn't yet escalated to blows, but Smee and at least one of the women, a strawberry blonde lass known as Kate, looked actually close to drawing on one another, both the man and the woman intent on getting their way. It was a familiar sight, that of Smee and the pirate wench Kate arguing, and depending on the circumstances, one that might have made Hook smile. But today was not one of those times, the pirate captain instead rolling his eyes, and letting out a put upon sigh. 

"Stay here." He spoke softly to the lad who had accompanied him from the kitchens. Young Thomas nodded, a tray clutched firmly in his hands. Hook then stepped away from the boy, walking towards the small group of four who stood arguing in front of the captain's cabin door. 

Kate and Smee had yet to notice Hook's approach, the two hostile and glaring, but the other two women were more focused. They had heard the heavy tread of his boots on the deck's floorboards, and actually turned to see who was coming to interrupt. They didn't quite pale at the sight of Hook's glowering expression, but neither was either of the pair eager to stick around and face a stern reprimand. He made sure to lock eyes with each one, his scowl such that they didn't dare think to warn Kate and Smee. Those two continued their argument, Smee standing with his hands at the ready, in quick reach of the cutlass on his hip. Kate was more relaxed, her arms crossed over her chest, confidant Smee wouldn't dare draw on her without the proper provocation. She was half right too. For all the years Smee had travled as part of the Jolly Roger's crew, the older man had never gained a true confidence in his fighting abilities. He'd only draw if pushed to it, and only if Kate pulled a sword first. 

"Damn it, you old, salty sea dog!" Kate was saying, her voice snapping with her frustration. "How many times must I tell you, we don't intend any mischief against the girl. We just want to see her." 

"You had time enough to get a look when the captain and the others first came back to the ship." Smee's calm retort had Kate practically grinding her teeth together, the woman actually making an infuriated sound. 

"Damn it, Smee! That's not what I mean and you know it!" She hadn't even tried to turn cajoling, and Hook didn't need to see her face to know her gray eyes were flashing. "I just want to MEET her. To see what's so special about her, that the captain..." 

"It's up to the captain when--IF you'll meet her." Smee interrupted. "I won't be letting you go behind his back a moment before he's decided otherwise!" 

"Smee..." Kate growled, taking an aggressive step toward the older man. Her arms were easing out of their crossed state, as though she was about to bring the fight to a more physical level. "You better..." 

"That's enough, Kate!" His voice a commanding snarl, Hook didn't have to lay a hand on her, to get Kate to freeze in place. Her back stiffened in displeasure when Smee gave a downright smug smile to her, and then the old pirate was dismissing her, his attention all for Hook and whatever orders the captain might have. 

"Don't you have a deck to swab or something?" Hook asked, and Kate made an outraged sound. The pirate lass then whirled to face him, her eyes sparking with anger, looking insulted by what Hook had just suggested. 

"My uses may be many, and my skill such that I can handle just about anything, but swabbing the deck? It's beneath me." 

"On my ship, I decide what is and isn't beneath you, and you'd best well remember that, Kate." Hook's retort had a sharp gasp tear out of her, and some of the crew that hung about the deck, and up in the rigging, let out barely muffled snickers. 

"Captain!" 

"There's better things to do than harass Smee on orders I gave him." Hook continued over her protest. "And gave with good reason to, I might add." His voice didn't soften, Hook almost harsh as he announced that Belle was the one treasure he wasn't yet ready to share. Kate look positively sullen at that, the woman struggling with her curiosity, and the many questions she had to ask. It was questions just about everyone on the crew was wondering about, and more than once during the past month had Hook heard them whisper about the enchantress who had cast her spell so successfully on their captain. Sometimes he wondered that too, but despite this all consuming need, Hook had yet to find anything to hint of magic's touch on him. It was just Belle's misfortune that Hook had fixated on her, and doubly his, to want a woman who wanted so little to do with him. 

That thought fanned the displeasure in his eyes, Kate's jaw clenching as she gave a stiff nod of acknowledgement. Hook didn't care where she went after this, what she did, or who she talked to, so long as they kept her busy and out of his way. Hook didn't have much care for Smee either, his mind and his lust already inside the room, focusing on Belle, and the state he might find her in. Hook sincerely hoped enough time had passed for her to calm down and put an end to her tears. But other than that, Hook didn't know much of what else to hope for, the pirate captain finding himself at a loss on how to proceed with the woman. The idea of a woman who didn't want him, who actually broke down and cried at his attempts to be seducing? It had previously been a laughable concept, Hook confidant in his skills that no woman would say no to him for long. 

Now that unshakeable confidence was faltering, Hook unsure of how to get what he wanted without resorting to the despicable. And only the curious eyes of his crew, kept Hook from lingering outside his cabin door, the pirate unwilling to broadcast his failings so completely. He forced himself to move, to give Smee an absentminded praise for a job well done. He gestured Thomas to come closer, and then opened the door to his cabin. Sunlight filtered in through the windows, the room bright if not cheery. He barely took note of the surroundings, his gaze going immediately to her figure. To how Belle hurriedly stood up from the chair she had been seated on. 

She was wrapped in a sheet from his bed, the fabric falling from around her shoulders to pool in bunches around her bare feet. The material jutted out in odd manner at her hips and to where he might guess were her knees. He instantly knew she had to have changed her clothing, that that was the only reason that could explain the bounce and sway of whatever was beneath that sheet. The movement was hypnotic, Hook staring, trying to envision just which of the many dresses with their bouncy skirts, and stiff petticoats, Belle might be wearing now. The one that would make her eyes blaze bluer? The red and white gingham? Or maybe the powdery butter yellow one. 

It was safe to say the answer obsessed him, Hook stepping towards Belle without thinking further on his actions. His hook was already reaching towards her, intending to rip the sheet off of her, when he heard her gasp, saw how she flinched and stepped back. His reaction was immediate, the heat creeping into his face, Hook freezing in place and giving her a sickly grin. 

"Ah....where are my manners?" 

Belle made a sound, a rude scoff that bespoke of the fact she thought he had none. Hook continue to wear that odd smile that was more grimace than anything, calling out to Thomas to enter into the room with the tray. Belle's eyes shifted for one brief second towards the young man entering into the cabin, before returning their wary focus to Hook. He wondered what she thought was hidden under the tray, if Belle was imagining instruments of torture or worse. 

"You MUST be hungry after such a long journey." Hook forced himself to step away from her. "I know I certainly am." But it wasn't food he was having a craving for, no matter how appetizing Philomina's cooking could be. 

Thomas had set down the tray, and was busy uncovering the goodies beneath it's cover. It was a sampling of tonight's feast, Philomina having gifted them with a little of everything. The cook might be thinking the worst of Hook where Belle was concerned, but she hadn't been about to let either of them starve. 

Belle's eyes had widened, a near imperceptible motion that would have been missed by anyone not watching her as closely as Hook was. He saw the indecision play out on her face, the woman attracted by the meal, by the delicious aromas that surged stronger now that the food was uncovered. She was still trying to keep a wary watch on Hook, but it was clear her attention was torn. 

"Join me?" Hook asked, moving towards the table. A touch of his hook on Thomas' shoulder, and the lad was dismissed, leaving the pirate alone with Belle. The strength of her wary dislike magnified, and Hook wondered what she hated more. The situation, or Hook himself? He'd lay good money on the odds against him, and his own upset increased, Hook again acknowledging how badly he had bungled things between them. 

Belle made no move to approach the table, keeping her distance from it and Hook. "Has it been drugged?" 

That took him by surprise, but visibly he betrayed no reaction save for a smile meant to disarm her. "Drugging a woman is the last thing I would resort too...." Belle didn't look like she believed him, a fact that had Hook inwardly wincing. "No, not drugged, or laced with anything of the sort." 

With Belle's attention on him, Hook took hold of an apple, and made a show of biting down on it's dark red flesh. "That doesn't exactly convince me...." She said in reply to his act of eating. 

"Your loss then." He said, watching her eyes narrow in upset. "Philomina will be SO disappointed." 

"Philomina?" 

"The cook." Though she was more than just a cook, but a kind of mother figure onboard the Jolly Roger. Just as quick to dispense advice, as she was to wield a knife, Philomina practiced a tough love to most of the crew. "She's been laboring for the better part of this day on preparing tonight's celebratory feast." 

"Feast?" She descended on that word. "Isn't it a little soon to be celebrating anything?" 

"We're alive." Hook explained. "Not only did we find and infiltrate the Queen's tower, not a single man was lost during that dangerous operation. That alone is reason enough to celebrate." 

"I see." With her soft lips twisted into a scowl, Belle looked like she wanted to say more. But she kept those thoughts to herself, watching instead the way Hook continued to eat. Her eyes showed a tortured indecision, Belle clearly wanting the food. Hook took pity on her, reaching for another apple. 

"Catch." 

She reacted with a reflex that surprised them both, the sheet slipping enough so that Hook could make out what dress she wore underneath. The white and lavender one, a pretty creation of silk and lace, and then she was hauling the sheet back up into place. Her other hand held the apple, and Belle stared down at it a long moment, struggling. Her hunger ultimately won out, Belle biting down greedily into the apple, a moan that was almost sexual and definitely appreciative escaping her at that first taste. 

The sound made him react, Hook feeling a sharp surge of desire go through him at that sound. He fought past it, watching her through hooded eyes, watching the clear cut relish in which she enjoyed the apple, Belle eating it almost faster than was considered healthy. 

"Did the queen not keep you fed?" He asked in a gruff tone. 

"She wasn't out to see me dead." Belle told him. "But...." She shrugged, and took another bite of apple. "Something like an apple was hardly a luxury afforded to a prisoner...." 

He had seen her room, the cell at the top of the tower. Drab and gray, with no windows, and no amusements, and it was only hitting Hook now just how much Belle must have suffered. 

"She won't ever trouble you again." He said out loud, a furious heat to his words. 

""Do not make promises to me....especially ones you can't keep." 

"I'll keep THIS one." He vowed. "Even if I have to KILL the Queen." 

Her look was one of appall, Belle staring at him for a long moment of silence. "You can't be serious." 

"I don't joke about these kinds of thing." Hook retorted, still maintaining that grim tone. "When I make a decision to kill someone...." 

She was hardly reassured. "I hardly expect you to go to so much trouble. Especially not for a stranger, and not for me...." 

"I think we're well past being strangers." 

Her cheeks ran red with her anger. "Hardly." 

"You can't deny we know each other on an...intimate level." He argued. 

"We had SEX." She hissed at him, pulling the blanket more securely around her. "There was nothing intimate about what had happened. You used me..." 

"You LET me." He was quick to remind her. 

"And so that excuses your part in this?!" Belle demanded. "No Captain, you took advantage...yes it was an opportunity I had given you, but one night's mistake doesn't make us friends or whatever it is you're imagining." 

She was right, as he was so reluctant to acknowledge. They weren't friends, and things weren't happening at all like he had imagined---fantasized so often about. But that didn't mean things had to remain as they were, and Hook was quick to point that out to her. 

Belle scoffed in response. "You hope for the impossible." 

"Why is it so impossible?" Hook asked in a reasonable tone of voice. "If we could put the past behind us, start over fresh...." 

"Is that before or after I overlook the fact that you've gone and kidnapped me?" 

"I rescued you." Hook was quick to correct. "Surely that has to count for something?" 

"It might." She allowed. "If I could be in any way assured your intentions had been so noble." 

"I'd hardly claim noble, but the need behind it...." 

"Need?" Belle questioned sharply. 

But Hook couldn't bring himself to tell her. Not of the need he didn't quite understand himself, but was driven by it all the same. A dark, obsessive thing, a need so desperate he had done just about anything for, it would only scare Belle off further if she learned about the insane desire inside him. 

She shifted restlessly in response to his prolonged silence. Her hands continued to clutch at the sheet, as though it was a shield capable of protecting her from just about anything. 

"Need, captain?" Belle tried again. "What could I possibly have that you need?" She gave an encompassing look around the room, frowning all the while. "You're already richer than most men dream of." 

"There are some things even gold cannot buy." Hook gruffly acknowledged. She seemed to stiffen at that, the look on her face suspicious. 

"Don't tell me..." She began in a slow, halting manner, then it was her turn to fall silent. 

"Tell you what?" Hook asked, and when she didn't answer, he dared to draw near. It was interesting to see how she both tried to watch him while not looking into his face. "Belle?" 

She suddenly shook her head, chasing off whatever thought she might have had. She then seemed to sigh, and gather her strength, before locking eyes with him. It was a fierce look she gave him, Belle almost regal. 

"You're all fools." She said. "Both you and the queen, for thinking in any way I have value and value to him of all people!" 

He wasn't sure what to respond to first, so many things coming to mind at her words. First and foremost was the value Belle believed she lacked, Hook knowing her as something vital and essential to his heart's piece of mind. 

He also thought it interesting that Belle would think for one moment that his goal and the Queen's could ever be the same. He didn't know the woman, and he didn't want to, choosing for the most part to avoid the Queen and that temper of hers that was so easy to arouse. 

Lastly, he wonder who the man was that Belle had alluded too. Surely some enemy of the queen, but who? And why would Belle be involved in this? In any of it, Hook raising his hand, stroking fingers against Belle's cheek, ignoring the way she tried to flinch away from his touch. His fingers found their way into her hair, a tight grip of those silken curls, to keep Belle near and focused on him. 

"I think it's time, love." Her one hand grabbed at his wrist, digging her nails into it, while she used the other to hold the sheet in place. 

"Time?" The word was not without a note of fear to it, but Belle tried to maintain being brave. He marveled at her courage, even as he noted the fine trembling of her body, Hook wanting to pull her into his arms and both comfort and make love to her. The last unsettled him, cause making love was not something he did anymore. These days he only fucked, the sex as meaningless as he could make it. It hadn't always been like this, but then his heart hadn't always been broken. 

The grief was there, but it wasn't something he could focus on. Not with Belle in reach, the allure of her and her mystery something Hook could gladly lose himself in. He fought to focus on something other than the fine tremble of her pouting lips, or how soft her hair was. Hook tried to remember just what he had been saying, about the queen and that mysterious man she was supposedly so mistaken about. 

There was so many things he didn't know, so many things he HAD to find out. He wondered if the man in question was the same who had broken Belle's heart, and the thought made a jealous light gleam in his eyes. He controlled the emotion, to not speak in a growling tone, telling Belle it was more than time for her to share her story with him. He didn't make it a question but a demand, Hook needing to know everything he could about Belle and her circumstance. And not just to protect her from the Queen, and not just to satisfy his own curiosity. Hook had a feeling, a hope, that to learn about Belle would in effect give him the key needed to win her over. Then and only then could his fantasies come true. 

\------------------------------------- 

To Be Continued....


	11. Eleven

It was the moment when Belle had thought she would die from fear. A moment where her poor heart had lurched into a terrified beat, it and her mind were then racing, the words the pirate had said scaring her near witless. She had actually shook in response, but had been unable to look away. Literally, the pirate's fingers maintaining a cruel grip on her hair. She had stared up into his eyes, into the determination that gleamed there, and Belle had been so afraid, so certain that Hook was right. That the time was finally here. 

"Time?" The fear that strangled her voice, made Belle sound anything but brave. She couldn't hide it, the fear and the thoughts behind it apparent in her face. In the expression that she wore, Belle certain she had gone pale. As white as the sheet she clutched around her body like a shield, Belle shaking and she couldn't stop remembering. Both the night in the alley, and the more recent memories, the molestations that had happen in the queen's tower and then in this very room. They blurred together with her fear, were made all the worst for it, Belle unable to breathe. 

Left to suffocate on her terror, Belle had barely heard the pirate's retort. She certainly didn't understand it, the stilted words that rumbled out of Hook. She was too focused on HIM, on his nearness, on his touch. On the look in his eyes, the hot demand there, Hook intent on getting--taking what he so desperately wanted. Such was her panic, that Belle completely misinterpreted the agitation that vibrated through him, the woman mistaken it for barely leashed lust and not the guilty frustration that it actually was in part. 

She certainly wouldn't have guessed at the feelings behind that guilt and frustration, or even why her reaction would cause such a response to answer inside of Hook. Hell, he didn't know any better than Belle did, the pirate frowning. It wasn't that he was a complete monster. Hook knew and understood in part some of Belle's fears. It wasn't even something he could truly find fault with, Hook knowing he had given her plenty of reasons to worry, to fear. Both in this room and not, Hook having lusted and lusted strongly for Belle. She didn't even know just how badly, and Belle definitely didn't come close to understanding how desperate a need it was. Why even now at her most frightened, Hook wanted her. Because even with her skin leeched of all color, with her face drawn tight with fear, she was beautiful, her every quivering breath making the lust fist tighter inside him. 

It wasn't normal. Not this lust, not this situation, and not HIM, Hook knowing he was unbalanced. And had been for a long, long time before Belle had walked into his life. It was just her misfortune that Hook had fixated on her, his soul deeming Belle as that vital something that he had been missing, that he absolutely NEEDED. Hook took it as a symptom of his madness, not the cure, the pirate never dreaming there could be more at stake here than the temporary relief that he was seeking. 

But he was blinded by his lust, by the more immediate problem of Belle's adamant refusals. He didn't like that she had said no, but more than that, Hook didn't like how it had made him feel. How SHE made him feel, Hook sexually frustrated but also feeling guilty. Wanting to hold and comfort Belle in a way that didn't have entirely to do with getting sex from her. That gentle desire was at war with his lust, Hook torn between doing what was the right thing versus doing what he really wanted. 

With a muttered curse that sounded angry even to his own ears, Hook pulled Belle to him. He felt how her body stiffened in response, and then she began fighting. Pushing at him with the half hearted desperation of a woman who was certain that the battle was already lost. That kind of broken panic, it made him flinch, a twinge of some sort hearted emotion overtaking him as he carefully lifted her up off the floor. 

Belle's lips parted on a silent gasp, but it was not to the bed that she found herself taken to. Instead the pirate had taken a seat by the table and had situated Belle across his lap. She struggled weakly against the arms holding her prisoner, but she was beyond exhausted. Her panic stole so much of her fight, the situation and the hopeless feel of it making the woman feel as though she only put off the inevitable by mere seconds. She was resigned to it, the tears burning in her eyes, as Belle began to sag in place. Only the adrenaline that her fear pumped through her, kept Belle from fainting completely. 

Hook read the defeat in her expression, felt the surrender of her body as she collapsed against him. He couldn't stop entirely the wicked excitement that flared in response, the dark lust that rightfully read Belle as his to now take. His fingers curled, gripping the bed sheet for one moment, his arm trembling with the urge to rip it and her clothing free of Belle's body. It was her misery that just barely controlled him, Hook letting out a hiss of displeased sound. His fingers would actually tighten their grip, Hook tempted, so very tempted. Another sigh would then escape him, the man shifting, tugging the sheet more firmly into place. Belle's hands would immediately clutch at it in response, the woman shivering and barely seeming aware of the fact that Hook wasn't tearing it off her. Wasn't even attempting to. 

She was aware of more than he gave her credit for, Belle flinching when Hook's hand raised. She trembled all the worst when it cupped her cheek, Belle darting a quick glance up at him before firmly fixing her gaze on some distant spot across the room. He stroked the satin softness of her skin, felt Belle's warmth, and then Hook felt her tears. They did a slow cascade down her cheek, a million unvoiced protests found in each glistening drop. The answering emotion that welled up inside him, left Hook battered on both ends of the spectrum, the urge to comfort fighting against the urge to just take. 

Things nowhere near decided, Hook breathed out a sigh as he pressed his lips to Belle's temple. She flinched at even that, at that gentle expression of a kiss. It left him gutted, her every frightened response helping to push back some of the lust that was trying to overpower the last of his good sense. It didn't stop his lips from kissing a trembling path down the side of her face, the pirate only able to control himself only so much. 

"Bloody hell woman." He finally groaned into her ear. Belle held herself still in response, as still as she could given how badly her body was trembling. "You drive me insane." 

She made a sound in response, a kind of choked out sob of disbelief. Hook's smile was strained in response, the war continuing to rage inside him. It would--should have been so easy to just take what he wanted. To just push Belle down and overpower her. But his dead conscience struggled to weak life, revived on the tears, the distress of this one woman. It made him care, and it made him angry, Hook still so far from understanding. It, her, any of this, the pirate confused, too lust addled to wonder much at the effect Belle was having on him. 

With frustration at the heart of his sigh, Hook began murmuring into Belle's ear. It wasn't an apology, not a real one at any rate, but he WAS sorry. And for so many things, for the night in the alley, for the way he continued to scare her, and for the fact that Hook was probably going to do a whole lot worst, the man unable to set Belle free. But he said none of this to her, speaking not of his regrets or of his overwhelming need. Instead he cast about for what seemed like a safe topic, telling Belle about the month long search he had devoted to finding her. 

She stirred in reaction, something other than a flinch betraying her interest. "A month?" Belle would whisper, and then risk a quick glance at Hook. She'd look away at the encouraging smile he would give her, but not before Hook saw a kind of troubled relief in her eyes. 

Not understanding it, not understanding her, Hook would slowly nod. "Yes, a month." He would say. "There wasn't a day that didn't go by..." He didn't finish that thought, but Belle guessed at his meaning all the same. Guess at and was disturbed by it, the woman realizing the pirate had been thinking of her. It made her shiver in unpleasant response, Belle clutching harder at the sheet around her. She knew enough to know that this wasn't normal, that Hook wasn't normal. He lusted a little too hard, put a little too much effort into a pay off that wouldn't amount to much. 

Belle just didn't understand him, didn't want to even try. She certainly didn't want to consider just how unhealthy an interest the pirate might have for her. It was far safer to delude herself, to believe Hook had gone after her in order to bankrupt a kingdom, or even use Belle as a pawn in some mad scheme. But the pieces weren't lining up as neat as she would have liked, Hook's behavior, that odd mix of gentle and rough, both confusing and worrying her. She didn't want to consider he might have a sincere interest in her, wasn't prepared in any way to deal with the idea of Hook's obsession. 

It was simply too much, and Belle was troubled enough. She couldn't even express enough relief in the idea that her captivity inside the tower had lasted only about a month. It had felt like a lifetime had passed, Belle certain she would die there. To find out otherwise, brought tears of joy to her eyes, Belle so immensely relieved and grateful. 

"It was only a month." Belle said out loud. She spoke it not to Hook, but to the universe, a confirmation that she had survived and had endured. In that moment she wanted to laugh as well as to cry, Belle happy and sad because she had traded one prison for another. 

Hook saw the look on her face. Experienced a brief, fleeting taste of Belle's joy. And then the blue of her eyes dulled with a gut wrenching sadness, Belle becoming the living embodiment of despair. It was like looking into a mirror of a month ago, Belle so perfectly matching the grief that Hook had been suffering with. It was that grief that had first attracted him, that overwhelming sadness in her eyes. Hook had looked at Belle and had known her for a person who had loved and lost, and whose heart had broken as a result. 

Belle had recognized the same in Hook. Had not only recognized but reached out to him, the woman searching for an answer she had already known. A heart that's been shattered won't ever heal, the pain won't ever go away. You can only distract it for a time, but eventually it will explode, the unfairness of it all hitting you harder then it had before. Until very little is left that works, and you're numb to everything but the pain, and left reaching blindly for some measure of relief. 

In the three hundred years that Hook has lived with his pain, there has been very precious little that has helped. Wine, women, pirating the open seas, and none of it had made so much as a scratch, his grief and the vengeance that was fueled by it, always just there. Existing in the forefront of his mind. Until her, until Belle, Hook remembering the night in the alley. The hot feel of her and the extraordinary effect she had had on him, his mind blessedly quiet, focused on nothing but Belle. 

He hadn't realized it then, but in the days that would follow, the lust he had borne for Belle's body gave birth to an obsession. A driving need to possess her, and such did it consume him, that Hook had been haunted by the fantasies. Those erotic imaginings had been fuel to the flame inside him, Hook burning with need. With a lust so strong, that just the idea of what he would do to, with Belle, it was enough to distract him from his true objective, Hook pushing aside his quest for vengeance for a whole month's time. 

It was a dangerous thing to do, with so many lives hanging in the balance. Hook spared a thought to his crew, to the long suffering men and women who were dependant on their captain to safeguard them from a threat most foul. The Dark One, Hook knowing that sooner or later there would be a reckoning. He'd be after them to settle the score, and Hook didn't hope for one minute that the Dark One had learned a bit about mercy in the three hundred years that had since passed. He'd slaughter every last one of the pirates, every man, woman and child. There was no way Hook could allow such a fate to befall the Jolly Roger and it's crew, not with what he owed them, the pirate captain knowing it was a blood debt that would only be ended when the Dark One was dead. 

There was only one problem. He had no idea how to actually succeed! And his obsession with Belle hadn't brought him any step closer, Hook wasting time, a whole month's worth, in the pursuit of the beauty. But he hadn't been able to think clearly, this need Hook had for Belle a weakness that hurt him and his crew. Their lives had been put at risk, and so had their futures, Hook dragging them all into further danger and there hadn't been a real complaint among them. He didn't deserve such loyalty and understanding, or worse yet their hopes. The wishes his crew had for him, Hook innately knowing they wanted him sane, healthy, and happy. 

He was only one out of the three, and Hook didn't see that ever changing. Not even for a pair of beautiful blue eyes and pouty red lips. She was a means to an end, the oddest combination of obsession and coping mechanism, and Hook was wild for her. A part of him suspected he would always be that way, while another clung to the thin hope that one more time would be enough to shake him of this affliction. Because what woman could ever hope to live up to the fantasy, especially one as scared of him as Belle so clearly was. The sad part was that Hook was scared too. Scared to find out that she would be BETTER than his most fevered imaginings. 

Already the pirate could see that Belle was more beautiful than he had remembered. She was a breath taking flavor of lovely, a goddess made real. She was the stuff made out of fantasies, and Hook burned to tear the sheet from her. But the pirate knew wouldn't stop at just the sheet, he'd peel away her dress and her petticoats, until Belle was as bare as the day she had been born. There'd be no way he would be able to resist her then, Hook falling on her, ravishing her senseless and just the idea of it was getting him excited, the pirate's lust ramping up several noticeable notches. 

Belle felt just how excited, the hard proof of Hook's arousal pressing against her bottom. Even with the stiff layer of petticoats, and the bed sheet between them, Belle could feel the heat and vitality of the part of him she found the most threathening. It nearly made her whimper, but Belle bit down on her lip in an effort to keep quiet. The pain of her teeth on her lip couldn't stop her own memories, or her fear, Belle remembering the night in the alley and the rough, brutal way she had been introduced to sex. 

Scarred by that experience, Belle was terrified of repeating it. With this man, with anyone, but especially with Hook. Her panic was worst for the fact it seemed inevitable, Belle aware of just how easily Hook could take from her what he wanted. What he seemed to think he was owed, Belle remembering the way he had manhandled her in the tower, and each reprieve was a torture all it's own, the woman almost wishing Hook would just get it over with already. Because she wasn't fooling herself, Belle knowing a rape at his hand was in her future. 

She didn't dare hope for a rescue. Didn't dare dream that there was a way to escape. Belle could only hope that Hook wouldn't hurt her too badly this time, and her trembling increased at the thought. She was at her breaking point, Belle besieged by so much. A month in the queen's tower, Rumplestiltskin's cruel breaking of her heart, and now the pirate, who wanted to do worse than kill her. 

Her face a picture of broken misery, she again felt the pirate's lips on her cheek. She didn't like the false play of comfort, his hand petting over the back of her hair. Most of all, Belle didn't like HIM, the woman shaking, a fine rage building inside her that couldn't hold a candle to her fear. 

They were both in need of a distraction, Hook finding it harder and harder to control himself. His hand continued to stroke over her hair, the rich chestnut colored curls so soft and silky in texture against his calloused skin. He itched to find out if Belle was that silky all over, and abruptly shook free of that thought. 

"Tell me your story." It was a husky whisper in her ear. 

"My story?" Belle risked a quick glance at him, her eyes blinking rapidly in response. And with it, a fresh wave of tears clung to her eyelashes, the drops glistening suspended for one moment before falling. 

"I want to know something about you." In truth he wanted to know ALL about her, both in bed and out, Hook utterly in thrall to his lust for her and looking for the key. That significant piece that would make Belle willing, Hook not wanting to have to force himself on her so thoroughly. 

She wasn't giving over the answer easily, Belle back to staring at some fixed spot in the distance. Hook let out a breathy sigh, watching how Belle shivered in response. "I know you must love to read." 

She didn't ask him how he had known that. Not when Belle had already discovered her belongings among his things. It gave him an advantage over her, Belle feeling like the pirate had seen at least a part of her inner workings with the handling of her things. 

"I've loved it since I was old enough to put the words together." Belle softly admitted. But she couldn't dive into the memory, couldn't bring herself to remember the joy she had felt when as a young child, she had learned her first real sentences. 

"You were lucky your parents let you learn..." 

"Let me? They couldn't have stopped me even if they had wanted to!" She couldn't stop the exclamation, her passion for reading make itself known ten fold. 

It wasn't the only thing Hook read in that fierce response, the man hiding a smirk as he deduced that Belle must have come from a very well to do family. She couldn't hide her startled response, Hook chuckling into her hair. 

"It's not just the books.." He said. "I have your things. All those pretty and expensive dresses, and the gold to go with it." 

She spared a thought to how creepy a fact that was, but more than that, something even more disturbing had started to take root in her mind. Because Belle hadn't failed to notice that Hook spoke as though he had no idea who she was, or who her parents really were. Of course she had already suspected he might have been after her for a reason other than bankrupting her kingdom for a ransom, that Hook might want to use her the same way the Evil Queen had hoped to. Either way it didn't make her feel much better, Belle feeling absolutely useless and helpless, and ill equipped to be this man's hostage. 

"It does beg the question though." Hook was saying, his hand still stroking fingers through her hair. "Such a rich and noble a family..." 

"Noble?" Belle asked sharply. 

Hook smiled in response. "With the kind of wealth you had traveled with? Your pedigree can't be any less than that of some minor nobility." He continued when she offered up neither a confirmation or a denial of his words. 

"Why ever would your family let you travel all by yourself?" It was a musing tone he used, the look in his eyes almost thoughtful. "With no maid, no servants, no guards?" 

Belle found herself wishing she had traveled with a small retinue of guardsmen, even as she knew they would have been all slaughtered by the evil queen. 

"Why did you come after me?" Belle asked, partly in an attempt to deflect the pirate's line of questioning. "What reason could you have had?" She shifted enough to look at him, her fearful eyes not without suspicion coloring them. "Did you think there was a profit to be had?" 

"There's ALWAYS a profit to be had." Hook retorted. 

"You'll not get a coin more for your troubles." Belle told him, and the lie came effortlessly to her tongue. "My family is dead." 

"Ah, an orphan?" He looked a little too happy about that. "Then there's no one to....look for you?" 

"There's the evil queen." Belle reminded him. 

"She won't be a problem." Hook was too confident. 

"She's a little tougher to kill than her toy soldiers." Belle protested. His hand cupped her cheek now, the pirate purring at her while he smiled. 

"Is that concern I hear?" 

"Hardly!" Belle scoffed. "I just know what she is capable of. She won't let this insult stand, the queen will stop at nothing to take back what's hers." 

"But you're not hers, are you, love?" He asked, while maintaining his smirk. His finger tips caressed her cheek, Belle shivering and looking away. 

"I'm not yours either!" She muttered angrily. "I'm my own person. I belong to no one." 

His silence spoke plenty, Belle forgetting enough of her fear to fume in response. How dare Hook act this way, how dare he make her feel this way, like some possession that had changed hands. And yet wasn't that exactly what she had become? One captor traded for another, and her situation just kept getting worst. 

At least with the queen, she would have only ended up dead. That seemed an infinitely better alternative to the fate the pirate had in store for her. 

"Well..." His voice in her ear, startled her out of her morbid anger. "It is lucky for us both, that my ship, the Jolly Roger is made of enchanted wood. The queen can look all she likes but it's magic will keep her from finding us. A couple of weeks at sea, and I dare say even she will realize the futility of her search." 

"You are underestimating how tenacious she can be...." Belle muttered. "Especially when she thinks someone can be of use to her." 

"Ah but a use to her HOW?" Hook asked. 

She turned wide eyed to him. "You truly don't know?" Her eyes studied him, Belle searching for a glimmer of deceit in that open expression of his. Her broken heart sunk to not find it, the woman this close to realizing the truth. "What am I to you?" She asked softly. "If not a ransom, and not a pawn...." 

His expression turned guarded, Hook giving her a look that was best described as an uncomfortable grimace. It only made her frantic, Belle staring at him, her tone almost begging as she spoke, asking him why. 

"Why did you go to such trouble for me? Why risk your people, why risk the queen's anger? There's no reward to be had, so...please...." Her eyes were wet again, Belle shaking. One hand clutched the sheet closed around her, the other reaching towards the pirate in a beseeching manner. "Just leave me be, and let me go!" 

She saw how his jaw noticeably clenched, but Belle couldn't tell the real emotion behind such a action. Was he angry? Was he moved? Frustrated, or something more? His eyes were too guarded, Hook all tense and staring at her. It left her with a sick feeling, Belle certain something very wrong was at play here. What that something was, she dared not give voice to, Belle frightened of it becoming real. 

With a muted sob, Belle brought her hands to her face. The bed sheet loosened and slipped, and Hook let a groan out. The lavender of her dress was revealed, the modest cut of the bodice straining over her lush breasts. Hook licked his lips, but was also aware of the woman's distress. With her sobs in his ear, Hook crushed Belle to him, trying for an awkward comfort. 

Belle found herself tucked against his chest, her fingers clinging and clutching at his leather vest. She sniffled and sobbed into his shirt, feeling his hand petting over her, and each pass lingered lower, inching it's way past the sheet that was crumpled around her waist. It only added to her fright, Belle crying harder with every stolen touch. 

His desire not wilted one inch in the face of her tears, Hook felt as though he fought a losing battle. Every caress lower brought him closer to admitting defeat, his hand lingering on the velvet and lace back of Belle's bodice. His fingers just barely kept from playing with the ties, Hook already on a slippery slope. He'd lose control completely if those ties were to break, Hook breathing harder at just the idea of Belle's bare beauty revealed. 

Abruptly he was standing, Belle still huddled against him. Her small frame remained wracked with tears, the woman clinging to the source of her distress. He really was the devil for torturing her like this, and yet his guilt wasn't enough to stop his lust. He'd actually take a step towards the bed, the indecision playing out on his face. He wanted Belle so badly, needed her so desperately, the lust screaming in his head. Reminding him that he was a pirate, that he was used to just taking what he wanted, damn the consequences. But her tears were off putting, Hook unable to reconcile to the idea of forcing himself on a woman that was hurting this much. 

With a sigh that cost him more than he wanted to admit to, Hook sat Belle down at the table. He had to work to pry her hands off of him, Belle grabbing blindly at the bed sheet in response. He found himself kneeling at her feet, Hook gazing up at her with a bleak expression of his own. 

"I'm..." But the apology rang hollow, Hook not truly sorry. Not in the way Belle needed him to be, the man bowing his head, the frustration coming off him in waves. Who was he more angry with in the moment? Belle for her fear and her refusals, or Hook himself for having scared her so badly? 

He just didn't know, barely able to think past the two conflicting needs inside him. The need to fuck and the need to comfort, Belle the sole focus of both. They tore at him with his every breath, the indecision playing out on his face. One shouldn't have existed, while the other should have been an undeniable fact, and together they tortured him. And her! 

With a frustrated sound Hook rose. There was no way to settle this, no way to appease the voices arguing inside him. No way save for Belle, for her lovely lips to speak the words he was desperate to hear. But she was as far removed from wanting him as one could get, Hook scrubbing his hand over his face. His month long fantasies all but crumbled apart, Hook understanding at last that the real struggles were just beginning. The good and bad of him were at war, and Belle was the unfortunate caught in their crossfire. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

To Be Continued....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Became the chapter that did not want to end, and I am still unsure it was a good spot to leave it on. X_X 
> 
> Anyway! 
> 
> Want to thank my good friend Zerousy, who helped make a major decision with this chapter. Basically I had two versions of a wip for this, both nearing around 10 KB in size. I was so conflicted on which one to ultimately go with. So I showed them to my friend, who liked both, but ultimately campaigned hard for me to go with my first attempt. Which was good, cause it was the wip I liked more, but I had been uncertain about elements of how distressed Belle was being. But Zerousy made a good argument about why Belle would snap and give in to the stress and the fear. So yay for Zerousy helping me! *hugs* 
> 
> I think I had more to say, but damn it..I've been up all night (it's just after nine by me) and my brain is fried. I can't remember what else I might have wanted to say. =/ Still nervous about this chapter, but I like it for the most part. If you're really curious about the two wips, I have both versions in separate posts on my live journal. 
> 
> Also, wrote a new summary for the fic. Not sure if I like it though. Maybe I should go back to the older version of the summary? 
> 
> Laters! 
> 
> Michelle


	12. Twelve

With a vision that was blurred by her many tears, Belle kept a wary watch on the pirate who knelt at her feet. She couldn't make out very well the expression on his face, Belle too distraught and caught up in a panic that blinded her to the subtler nuances of this encounter. She certainly didn't notice the bleak despair that lit in his sapphire gaze, or even hear the broken attempt at an insincere apology. His lust was simply too big a focus for anything else, Belle afraid and crying, and she hated herself as much as she hated Hook. 

It was the weakness inside her that was at the source of all that hate. Belle hated how Hook made her feel, but more than that, the woman hated that she let him. Through him, she was transformed, becoming this weak, teary eyed creature who had given over to her panic. It didn't just leave her weak, it made her feel ashamed, Belle embarrassed by her reactions, by the fact that she could barely stop crying. 

The tears made Belle feel as though she had already embraced defeat. She felt sick with it, the feeling and the situation that caused it making her feel more hopeless than ever. The impossible had been accomplished, Belle now realizing there was worse things than being the Evil Queen's prisoner. 

Never having dreamed she would long for those days, Belle found herself wishing for the tower. For the unmolested solitude she had so enjoyed, Belle bored but safe from the pirate and his lust. She'd gladly go back there, to that windowless room of drab grays, those endless days of nothing so much more preferably to the terror of Hook's bed. 

She didn't once consider that it could be anything but a hardship. Didn't once stop to wonder if their month's long separation hadn't helped to exaggerate worse her memory of that night. To Belle, sex with Hook had more than lived up to every bad thing she had ever heard the women of her father's court whisper. Of pirates AND of a woman's burden, the duty all wives owed to their husbands. Poisoned by it, and by a first time that had been traumatic, Belle could no longer believe there might be something more to sex than a man's pleasure and making babies. 

Her dreams had been crushed, Rumplestiltskin shattering her belief in love, while Hook had helped to destroy her desire. Belle was left with nothing, not even hope, and her heart felt broken beyond repair. Battered long before she had met Hook, Belle had since come to a grim acceptance, to a complete lack of faith in happy endings. She no longer believed, Belle having determined that life was nothing more than different levels of pain. 

The suffering in her eyes was worse for that realization, Belle the picture of heart break. It wasn't just the tears that left her blinded to everything, it was the sorrow in the broken halves of her heart, Belle tortured to the point she had given up on life. She simply existed instead, misery and grief her companions, Belle clutching at them as much as she did the bed sheet about her waist. 

She'd flinch when he'd stand, Belle trembling all the more with fear over what Hook would now do. That he didn't immediately try to touch her didn't seem to matter, Belle braced for it, and for his worst. He'd stare down at her with an expression she couldn't begin to try to understand, Hook holding himself still in a moment that built upon the torture in both their souls. 

"Hell." He'd finally grate out and back away from her as though he had been scalded. Confused, Belle had no hope to let build, the woman watching as the pirate continued to put distance between them. He'd start to say something else, would actually curse in an angry, frustrated fashion, and then Hook was turning away. She wouldn't see the angry clench of his hand, the way his fingers curled almost violently into a fist. Hook would say nothing more to her, stalking in an aggressive manner across the room. 

He would reach the door that Belle knew led into the small bathroom. He'd hesitate before it, and never turning around to actually look at her, Hook would speak. 

"The meal is yours. Feel free to enjoy it and anything else you find in this room." 

She didn't even glance at the small feast that lay spread out on the table next to her. Belle was simply too upset to even consider eating, her stomach actually turning in protest at the smell of the food. 

Hook would wait an unsuccessful beat, and then he would push open the door, and disappear inside the bathroom. Even the door slamming closed behind him sounded angry, Belle flinching in response. And then she would sag in place on her seat, the woman bringing the bed sheet up against her face. She'd cry harder now that she was alone, too scared and too worried to be grateful for this next reprieve. Not when she didn't know how long it would last, Belle shaking, terrified and that was before she heard Hook shout. 

Her startled reaction of fright had Belle lurching up right. She almost immediately sat back down, her legs feeling as shaky as the rest of her. The pirate wouldn't shout again, though Belle did hear some angry sounds coming from the bathroom. Some low muted mutterings, and the louder sound of something crashing to the floor. This proof of his temper had her eyes widening in alarm, but it was nothing compared to what followed, Belle hearing the sound of running water, and a most visceral sounding groan. 

Gasping to hear it, and the muttered moans that followed, Belle knew without a doubt what Hook was doing in there. She just didn't understand WHY, the woman shivering, and if she hadn't been so pale with fright, the warmth in her cheeks would have made her blush a vivid shade of pink. 

When she heard the strangled saying of her name, Belle again shot up. Her legs held her up better this time, but only just barely, the woman staring at the bathroom door. Expecting it to fly open at any moment, for the lust crazed pirate to appear and attack her, Belle knew she couldn't stay here. Not for even a single minute longer, Belle sick and moving with an unsteady purpose towards the door that would lead out onto the deck. She took the bed sheet with her, that soft fabric a life line meant to shield her from curious stares. It helped her to feel marginally better to have it wrapped around her, Belle cold and feeling far too vulnerable to face a whole crew of pirates on her own. 

It wasn't courage that got her over the worst of her hesitations. It was Hook. His frantic, furious moaning that wasn't muffled enough, Belle fleeing the sound so much as she did him. She'd open the cabin door, and slowly step out into sunshine and warmth. Her eyes squinted in response, Belle not used to the direct brilliance of the sun after being trapped by the queen for so long. 

It wasn't the only thing, the sounds and sight of the crew out on deck more stimuli than Belle had been exposed to in a month's time. She stood there uncertainly in front of the cabin, blinking owlishly as her eyes tried to adjust to the light. There was a few curious stares aimed her way, and Belle was uneasy to note that more than one man was openly admiring her. She clutched harder at the bed sheet, but didn't go back inside the cabin. Instead with her stride determined, Belle made her way to the far railing, emboldened when no one tried to stop her or worse yet molest her. 

Her relief wouldn't last at the railing. Belle would place one hand on the warm wood, and stare with a grim gaze at the sea stretching out behind them. There was thick mist in the direction that she looked, Belle knowing that somewhere beyond it lay the mountains where the evil queen's tower stood. She had memories of that mist from the time just after her last capture, Belle on a ship a lot different from the pirate's, watching as the mountains slowly had revealed themselves. 

The view wasn't in any way improved, now that she was leaving this place. Her circumstances had changed, but not by enough, Belle letting out the most weary and despairing of sighs. And all because she was still trapped, the woman not knowing how to escape the pirates any more than she had been able to escape from the queen. 

Her hand on the wood railing, Belle couldn't tell if the ship was truly made of that enchanted oak. The tree that produced the enchanted wood was incredibly rare, and many believed it was actually extinct. The trees might be gone, but the things made out of them were not, the objects fashioned from the wood a highly valued and sought after prize among magic users and those that valued their privacy. She couldn't even begin to imagine a whole ship made out of it, or how the pirate would have learned of it, though Belle would bet good money that Hook had stolen it like everything else. 

It didn't matter. Whether purchased or stolen, the facts remained the same. The tree's enchanted wood would ensure the ship's safety against most magic, and keep sound from traveling off it. Not even the Dark One was said to have the power to spy on a person surrounded by the wood's magic, and Belle knew that from experience and the queen's gloating. The tower may not have been made completely from the wood, but there had been enough of it woven between the stones, to lock away the evil queen's most valuable hostages. Belle had screamed herself hoarse that first day, calling for Rumplestiltskin to come and save her and had been rewarded with nothing but silence. 

She could have taken it to mean that the monster just hadn't cared, but even if Rumplestiltskin did not, he was magic bound to respond. All it took was the right circumstance, the saying of his name out loud three times in a row. Even if the man hadn't wanted to see or to help her, the Dark One would have appeared. 

Not that Belle knew what she would have done had the summons worked. She hadn't been eager to see him, but Belle had been desperate for a rescue. She had also had nothing to barter with, Belle not knowing just what she could have offered the Dark One as a deal. He hadn't wanted her love, had actively worked to crush it and her, and Belle didn't know if she could have handled the heart break of another rejection at his hands. 

She was stronger in that regard than Belle had been, even with all her crying, and the weakness the woman had realized she felt when at Hook's mercy. Because she was ready to embrace failure on the off chance that the Dark One would help her, that he would care enough to even try. Belle still didn't believe she had any value, not to him, not to anyone, but the fact remained that Rumplestiltskin HADN'T killed her, instead only banishing her from his home and his life. That surely had to count for something, some kernel of tolerance that didn't necessarily mean that the Dark One cared for her. 

Gripping the rail harder, Belle steeled herself to whisper Rumplestiltskin's name. It was a test, Belle needing to know if the ship was really enchanted and desperate to make a deal of some kind. She'd trade away just about anything, and pray it would be more than enough. Otherwise she was once again at the mercy of a person who had little, Belle frightened of Hook and to a lesser extent his crew. 

Lips parted on a sigh, Belle was all set to whisper the start of the Dark One's name, when a voice spoke from behind her. The fact that it was a woman's voice didn't help calm the frantic terrified beat of her heart, Belle slowly turning around to look at the pirate who had approached her. 

She was a very pretty lady, with exceptionally cute features and hair that was colored a strawberry blond. Her silver gray eyes seemed an odd match for that hair color, but they held a friendly warmth to them that Belle didn't know to trust. 

"Um..." Belle said slowly. "I'm sorry?" Because she hadn't made out the words spoken, just the fact that this woman had so clearly addressed her. 

The woman smiled at her, and didn't seem at all exasperated. "I said, a copper penny for your thoughts?" 

Belle didn't know what to say in response, and it showed in the puzzled light of her red rimmed eyes. The woman maintained her smile, even as Belle felt that the blonde didn't miss a thing about the distress in Belle's face. 

"I'm Kate." The woman said, the pirate lass already reaching for Belle's hand. 

"I'm..." 

"You're Belle, I know." The woman said, while shaking Belle's hand. It was a firm grip, the kind of handshake Belle would have expected between men and not two women. But then the lass more than looked the part of a tom boy, what with the fact she wasn't wearing a skirt of any kind, but form fitting leather that molded to every curve of her body in an almost indecent manner. She had a sword on her hilt, a cutlass of some kind, and Belle noticed the faintest of scars on an otherwise perfect right cheek. 

Belle didn't know much about fighting, but she recognized the scar as having been made in some sort of attack. Belle felt heat warm her face when she realized she was openly staring at it, but Kate didn't seem to mind. She was too busy looking Belle over in turn, the woman's eyes touching on everything from Belle's face, to her hand, to the sheet wrapped around her. 

"First time at sea?" Kate asked her, and slowly let go of Belle's hand. 

"Not quite." Belle admitted, thinking of the evil queen's ship, and of cages made of enchanted wood. 

"No I didn't think so." Kate nodded. "You're not green enough, and though you do seem a bit unsteady at the moment, I've no doubt it doesn't have to do with any first time sea sickness you could be experiencing." 

Belle slowly nodded that Kate was right. Because she might have felt sick, but it had little to do with the gentle rolling of the ship on the water. 

"So how do you like it?" 

"It?" Belle questioned sharply. 

"The Jolly Roger." clarified Kate. She threw out her arms in a wide encompassing gesture, and Belle actually looked past the woman to the scene behind her. There was pirates every where, men, women and even some children. Most were busy with tasks, and Belle was surprised to note that the women didn't seem discriminated against or abused, the lady pirates working just as hard as the men, and many at the same tasks. There were women up in the rigging, and men swabbing the deck. And just about everyone had a weapon of some kind, even most of the children! 

It was alarming, it was surreal, and most of all it SHOULD have been wonderful, Belle seeing a kind of equality she had never dreamed could exist, especially among pirates. 

"It's...different." She said after a moment's hesitation, which had Kate laughing merrily. 

"Yes, I can imagine!" The pirate lass exclaimed, easily lifting herself up onto the railing of the ship. Belle turned to look at her, Kate seated on the rail, hands not even gripping the wood, as she casually swung her legs back and forth. "You'll find life on the Jolly Roger far different from anything you could expect on land. Or sea for that matter." 

"What do you mean?" Belle inquired, and she wasn't just asking to distract herself from her upset. Belle was genuinely curious, the goings on of the crew so different from anything she could have imagined. 

"The women for one thing, and the men's attitude towards them." Kate explained. "The captain's all about equality, instead of letting what's between your legs define who you are and what you can do." 

Belle could hardly keep from staring, and Kate reacted to the shock. "Crazy I know." Kate agreed. "Especially given how little things have changed in some three hundred years...." 

"Progress in the kingdoms has always been slow...." Belle managed to say, her mind reeling on what Kate had just said. She couldn't picture Hook the way that Kate saw him, Belle having been made by him to feel very much like her self worth was all about the spot between her thighs. 

"That's no excuse!" Kate was saying. 'The men be our tyrants, and we women let them." 

"Most do...but not all...." murmured Belle. 

"Yes, if there's one thing to admire about that bitch, it's that the queen owns up to her power. You'll never see her defer to a man." 

"It's not just the queen." Belle said, remembering the warrior she had met, a woman named Mulan. "There's not enough of them out there, but there are women rising to the challenge of being more than what their men would have them be." 

"Trail blazers, all of them!" approved Kate. "Women to be admired." 

"Yes." Belle quietly agreed, and found herself the intent focus of Kate's gray stare. 

"And what about you Belle?" Kate asked. "Which side of the fence do you straddle?" 

"Me?" Belle hesitated. She was a long way from feeling powerful and assertive, from being a person to be admired. She had simply been too beaten and broken one too many times, Belle letting the pain fill her eyes along with a frustration at her ability to do anything worth while. "It doesn't matter..." She finally admitted, her voice cracking. "I'm nothing..." 

She saw Kate frown in response, and then the woman was leaping up off the rail. "Don't let that bitch defeat you!" She was fierce, and the slamming open of a door seem to punctuate her words. Belle heard her name shouted, the woman flinching in response, and moving in such a way to put herself closer to the rail and to Kate. The pirate lass took note of Belle's reaction, and was not without sympathy. 

"And don't let him defeat you either." Kate advised, and Belle once again found herself staring in shock at the female pirate. "Oh aye..." The pirate said in a much softer tone. "I can guess what he wants from you. You've turned his world upside down, and Hook hasn't been acting very much like the captain we all know and respect." 

Belle nervously reached out to Kate with one hand. "Can...can you help me?" Kate hesitated, and Belle bit out a desperate please in response. 

"I'll do what I can and that's not much at the moment." Kate told her to Belle's disappointment. "But you need to do something for me in return..." 

"What?" Belle asked, her tone soft and desperate. 

"Just trust that he wasn't always like this." Was Kate's retort. "There's a kind, caring man amidst all that darkness infecting him, and I'm not the only one of his crew to hope that the right woman could save him." 

Once again Belle found herself staring at Kate. It was both a shocked look and an aghast one, Belle starting to shake her head no again. But before she could outright react any further, Hook was there, his hair still wet from his shower. 

"There you are!" He exclaimed, looming over her menacingly. He barely spared a glance Kate's way, too busy staring down at Belle, anger and agitation alight in his eyes. This close Belle could see that Hook had shaved down his beard considerably, revealing the handsome, slightly scruffy face of the man from the alleyway. 

She wasn't happy at the reminder of just how handsome he actually was, Belle looking away, looking towards Kate with a pleading expression. Hook followed to where she looked at, and Belle saw how his jaw clenched with annoyance. 

"Didn't I tell you to swab the deck?!" 

"Captain." Kate spoke in a deceptively pleasant voice. "That was over an hour ago, and besides, I thought we were clear on what the best of my abilities are for." 

"I'm not one to tolerate insubordination." 

"And I'm not one to give it." Kate retorted, which stole a rough laugh from Hook. 

"You skirt the line time and time again. Be careful Kate...one of these days you may find yourself kicked off my ship." 

"But not today." Kate replied, unflappable in the face of Hook's warnings. "Not when I am merely seeing to a much more important task." She glanced a Belle, and so did Hook. "Your...lady friend was in need of some air and a friend." 

"And you were just so quick to volunteer..." Hook growled. 

"And why not? No one else was going to, when you have them so scared." Kate sighed and tsked. 

"I just don't want them bothering Belle needlessly..." 

"Oh?" Kate arched an eyebrow at him. "That's not what you said earlier captain. Why I distinctly remember you saying Belle was the one treasure you weren't ready to share with anyone." 

Belle couldn't stop the gasp, or the way she shrank back closer to Kate. She had visions of what that word share implied, and it had her sick and fearing, Belle now more in need of a friend than ever. 

Hook looked embarrassed, casting a quick look Belle's way before frowning at Kate. "You speak on what you don't understand." 

"Oh, I understand plenty." Kate retorted. "Certainly more than you." 

"And what is that supposed to mean?!" Hook demanded. 

"Just that the poor girl has been locked up in a tower prison for over a month, with little to no company, and now you want to deprive of the chance to make a friend or two...." He started to open his mouth, and Kate raised her voice over him, wagging a finger at him for good measure. "And don't you dare be saying you're all the friend that Belle needs, you self centered oaf!" 

His mouth twisted into a scowl, Hook glaring at Kate who was just as fierce back. "It's a lot to take in, and it would be wrong to keep her cooped up in your cabin indefinitely." 

Belle saw Hook glance her way, the woman trembling in response. She couldn't help but look a little pitiful, the woman again clutching at the bed sheet, while hoping Kate somehow got through to Hook on this. Belle felt desperate to remain out on deck, to be near Kate, as if she and the other pirates would somehow take pity and protect her more surely from Hook and his lusts. 

"Fine." Hook grit out between his teeth. "But there's a time and a place for everything." 

"You're right, of course!" Kate said and positively twinkled with mischief, as she touched one of Belle's hands. The beauty didn't fail to not notice how agitated Hook was in response, the man not liking that the female pirate was actually touching Belle. "Which is why you'll come to tonight's feast, won't you?" 

"Feast..." Belle remembered Hook mentioning the celebration that would happen tonight. She wasn't in any mood to party, and didn't feel there was anything to celebrate, and yet it seemed an infinitely more appealing option to being stuck inside the cabin with Hook. 

"Kate..." Hook was growling in warning, and then Belle was clasping Kate's hand back. 

"I'd be delighted to." She told her, with a nervous attempt at a smile. Kate was absolutely delighted in return, and ignoring Hook's sputtering, the pirate lass promised Belle it would be a celebration worthy of her rescue. 

Belle gave a nervous glance to Hook who was glowering, and the woman didn't feel like she had been rescued at all. She wasn't safe either, and Belle had a feeling she would never be. Not here on this ship, not around Hook, and not even on land, Belle always hunted in some way by somebody. 

It was the price she had to pay. The price for having been associated with Rumplestiltskin. There would always be some enemy, some misguided fool who thought Belle was worth something to the Dark One. That they were wrong about that, it didn't matter, she'd keep on being a pawn, and be absolutely useless at that. 

The pirate was no different in that much at least, Belle unable, unwilling to believe that Hook could have an ulterior motive that was far removed from that of the queen or even that of bankrupting her kingdom. It was too awful to contemplate otherwise, too scary and sick to even think Hook had gone after her simply because he had wanted that strongly. There was a safety in deluding herself, and Belle had a feeling the delusions were something she would indulge in often in the coming days. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

To Be Continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah...this one didn't make me struggle anywhere as badly as eleven did. (Which was a five day struggle! This one was only an evening.) I had trouble to get started at first, but once I got my opening lines, the rest just seemed to flow! Yay! Had a little difficulty with finding an ending spot. ideally I would like to have the next chapter be a time skip to the actual celebration feast, but may have to have some kind of scene between Hook and Belle first. ^^'' 
> 
> For those wondering, Kate was briefly introduced in chapter ten....the pirate arguing with Smee over wanting to meet Belle. In my head, Belle (and Hook!) are going to be stuck dealing with a whole crew of pirates intent on love match making! *chortles merrily* 
> 
> If you read my other Captain beauty attempts, I am pretty sure I've mentioned my head cannon about enchanted wood in at least one of them. And that is that it can muffle sound from being magically eavesdropped on, and hide people from a magic user searching for them. That sort of thing. ^_- 
> 
> I'm more than a little nervous about the pirate crew OCS... 
> 
> Laters! 
> 
> \---Michelle


	13. Thirteen

It was a weak attempt at a smile, all of Belle's fluttery nerves and her anxieties alive in that slight twist of her lips. Certainly that fearful expression couldn't hold a candle to the delighted smile Kate gave back in return, and yet Hook felt dazzled to see it. Because that smile was a million times better than the worst of Belle's tears, and had just as powerful an effect on Hook as any of the woman's sadness and her fright had had. 

Hook found himself filled with conflicting emotions again. There was the warmth that flowed through him, Belle's shy uncertain manner charming a dull throb of reaction in his broken heart. Sharper yet though, was the jealousy that filled him, Hook sick with it, and not liking one bit that the beauty wasted her smile on someone other than him. It didn't matter that that someone was another woman, or that Kate had no sexual interest in anyone who didn't meet the lass' strict, MANLY requirements. Hook was jealous, irrational, and greedy, wanting to posses Belle down to the last inch of her, and that included her smiles.

Glaring at Kate, his anger only shot up in response when Hook realized what the woman was saying. How she was inviting Belle to the celebration that was planned for this night. He began to say something in response, but Belle was already seizing upon Kate's words, clasping the pirate's hand back as she announced how delighted she'd be to attend. That earned her a glower from Hook, the man nearly speechless with his upset. And all because he hadn't intended to share Belle this soon, the only celebrating Hook having intended to be a private one behind the closed door of his cabin. 

His mind STILL full of fevered, unrealistic imaginings, Hook wasn't ready to give up this easily. Especially not to Kate, the man narrowing his eyes at the lass while shifting closer to Belle. The beauty was still clutching at the female pirate's hand, her blue eyes filled with a desperate pleading that left Hook beyond furious, his jaw visibly clenching with his upset. Kate frowned at him, but Hook was unapologetic. 

"That was very NICE of you to offer, Kate..." The words were bit out with an angry sarcastic emphasis. "But we won't be attending." 

His hand placed on one of Belle's shoulders, the pirate captain made sure to pull the woman firmly against him. He glowered at Kate while doing so, the fine tremble and flinch of Belle's body only adding to Hook's own upset. 

"It's fine if you want to sleep the night away..." Kate said, which had Hook snorting, because sleeping was the last thing he was intending. "But the lady has already made it clear, she's coming." 

Hook scowled at her. "The lady was only being polite." 

"Which is a might more than you're being!" retorted Kate. "Honestly captain. You're acting little better than a tyrant, when Belle has a voice and feelings of her own." 

Hook would have flinched if he hadn't already been so angry, a part of him still knowing that Kate was right. He was being no better than a bully, trying to possess and to control Belle, right down to who she did and didn't see. It was completely insane behavior, Hook acting like a man he not only didn't recognize, but on some level despised. 

Kate didn't hold back on her offensive, pressing forward in the pursuit of Belle's happiness. Hook felt resentment to watch her do it, the man knowing that he himself was too selfish to truly do the same. 

"It's only one night." Kate argued. "You'll have plenty just like them to enjoy in the coming weeks...while Belle...Belle has had so few what with the queen holding her prisoner. Don't you think the poor girl would want a chance to meet and thank those who helped to free her from that tower?" 

Hook felt his silence spoke plenty, but Kate wasn't done arguing in Belle's favor. 

"Captain..let her have this night. Otherwise you're no better than the queen, locking Belle away from the rest of the world..." 

"Please..." Belle spoke it, in a soft hesitant manner. Hook glanced down at her, Belle looking up at him with her earnest blue eyes. There was too much sadness gleaming there, Belle hurt and afraid. By him and of him, Hook able to think past his own anger and lust to know it was only disaster that they both courted tonight. 

"Fine." The word exhaled on an angry sigh, Hook seeing how shocked Belle was in response. Kate schooled her reaction better, but the pirate was certain there was a smug light in the woman's gray colored eyes. 

"Thank you." Belle practically whispered it, then quickly looked away. 

"Yes, thank you for being so gracious, captain." She was surely in part mocking him, Hook scowling in turn at Kate. She ignored it, smiling instead at Belle, all mischief personified. "It will be a great time, Belle. I'll introduced you to all the lads and lasses! They've all been SO eager to meet you." 

"Kate...!" Hook snapped in warning. 

"Well it's the truth!" Kate retorted, dancing out of reach while wagging a finger at Hook. "You know it, I know it, and it's about time Belle know it!" Another smile was given to Belle, Kate's gray eyes flashing silver with her laugh. "That is if she hadn't guessed it already!" 

With that said, Kate moved to leave. Hook glared all the harder at her retreat, his teeth practically grinding together and that was before Belle asked the question that had been inspired in part by Kate's words. 

"Are they really that eager to meet me?" A terse yes from him only had Belle more curious. "Why? Because they risked their lives for me? Or..." 

"Or what?" He inquired in a gruff tone of voice. 

"Or is it because they think the pay off will be that big?" She sighed then. "It won't. There's no profit to be had beyond the gold you took from my room at the inn..." 

"Belle lovely, you'll find that not all reward is measured in gold..." He couldn't yet smile, still so angry and bothered by Kate's antics. Even annoyed he was attuned to Belle's distress, to the rise of it, the woman starting to lightly struggle in an attempt to step away from Hook's side. 

It was effortless the way he kept her pressed against his body, Hook frowning down at her and watching the frightened look bloom in her eyes. He supposed it had to do with his lust, with the strength of it, and how it had driven him to such desperate lengths to go after her. Hook almost felt embarrassed in response, knowing how crazy his actions were, the risks taken too insane to be believed. And yet he had been nothing but crazed, Hook unable to think straight, to function without the overwhelming need to find and go after this one woman in particular. 

It didn't matter that she was the most beautiful woman Hook had ever laid eyes on in over three hundred years time. There was just something about her, something that made his blood wild, and made Hook go insane with need. He didn't come close to understanding it, and yet Hook grabbed for it the way that Belle had Kate's hand, the man desperate for the lifeline the beauty had presented him with. 

It was just a shame Belle didn't feel the same way. Hook had no one to blame but himself, having thoroughly bungled things with her, and having earned the beauty's fear. That fear was strong in her eyes now, her voice strangled with it as Belle spoke. 

"And is that reward in part the same thing that you want?" She asked. "Do you intend to share me with your crew once you have had your fill of me?!" 

The idea was so shocking, Hook's grip slackened for one second. And then the angry jealousy hit him, Hook visualizing a little too strongly the idea of another man laying hands on this woman. With a growl, he hauled her back to him, Hook's glare furious as he pronounced the word, never. 

"Never." He said and meant it. "I'll kill any who lays so much as a finger on you in that way, and that goes for the women too!" 

Hook saw that that didn't reassure Belle at all, the woman squirming fitfully against the prison of his arms. She was still trying to hold onto the bed sheet, while she did it, a lavender lace covered shoulder revealing itself in the process. 

"Then what?!" Belle cried out in a hoarse whisper. "Why would they, why would you ALL be willing to risk your lives for me? Just what do you think will be your reward?! I'm nothing! Nothing!" 

"You're everything!" It came out before he could think to stop it, Hook growling it passionately into her face. Belle left go of the bed sheet to push at him with her hands, and brute that he was, Hook couldn't stop clutching at her. Even with knowing she was going to come away with bruises on her arm, Hook holding her to him and staring into her face with a desire he was helpless against. 

"You're everything." He repeated, while the heat of his gaze caressed her lips. "You're that vital something, that crucial element to my..." 

She pushed harder at him, Belle shaking her head no. "You're mistaken." She snapped over him. "Just like the Queen was, and the sooner you both realize it, the better off we'll ALL be!" 

"I am not mistaken, not about this!" Hook snarled, bending his head closer to hers. She stared up at him, wild eyed and distressed, her lips trembling just before he started kissing her. Those lips were softer than satin, their taste more pleasing then wine. Hook couldn't suppress the moan that groaned out of his throat, his hungry open mouthed kiss setting out to seduce, to beg, to demand Belle's response in turn. 

She didn't give it to him. Not like she had in the alleyway, Belle trembling all over and keeping her mouth sealed to him. It didn't deter him, Hook pressing harder, his mouth a living, breathing demand that Belle gasped in response to. His tongue immediately flicked against hers, Hook taking advantage of her weakness. She didn't try to bite down, Belle seeming frozen in shock as Hook laved his tongue against hers. 

His hold shifted enough, that the bed sheet slipped the rest of the way free of Belle, the wind catching at the fabric. It flapped for one second, and then took to the air, and Hook didn't give a damn, willing to sacrifice every last bed sheet on board for this moment. For her warmth, for her honeyed tasted, Belle a living delight in his arms, and he was stroking fingers up and down the rigid spine of her back. It made her twist in response, Hook losing the heat of her mouth for one second before he hauled her back in place and kissed Belle even harder than before. 

His tongue made brutal love to her mouth, and Hook was eating up her sounds, the tiny whimpers and distressed squeals. He couldn't get enough of them, of her, and it was like that moment in the bathroom had never happened, Hook just as hard and lusting as he had been before he had stroked himself off to an unsatisfying climax. A splash of cold water wouldn't have stopped the fever burning in him, nothing would, Hook needing this woman, and needing her badly. 

Belle made another sound, tried to both shove and twist free. Her distress only added flavor to the kiss, Hook turned on by both her squirming movements and the little sounds escaping between them. 

He began an even crueler game, letting Belle have enough freedom to attempt an escape, only to haul her more firmly back time and time again. She sucked in breaths of air in between kisses, but was unable to properly catch her breath under Hook's relentless assault. Occasionally he'd actually make out a word, a little please here and there. Hook would beg in response, trying to coerce out a yes, feverishly demanding Belle tell him that she wanted him. 

She never did. Belle just kept on begging, her voice softly asking for pity to a man who had little to spare her. His own voice and his kisses begged Belle for a mercy that only she could give him, Hook wanting, needing, demanding her surrender and coming away exhausted for the effort. With a heavy breath rasping out of him, Hook touched their foreheads together and stared into Belle's eyes. They gleamed wet with tears, her fear, panic and distress made all the worst in response. 

In that moment, Hook realized a few things. The most troubling of all? That Belle recognized how great a motivator his lust for her had been. Recognized and was actively trying to deny it, the woman disturbed by it, by him. 

"You won't stop this just because you don't want to believe..." He muttered to her. "All the denials in the world won't change the fact that I did come after you...." 

"It doesn't matter..." She said in a broken tone. "Nothing you take will be gladly given." 

The truth of that made him flinch. Not for the first time, did she make him wish he had done things differently. Wishing he had been a kinder, gentler lover, Hook could only whisper out a hoarse confirmation of Belle's words. 

"I know." He said, and abruptly, reluctantly let go of her. She immediately stepped back, Belle hugging her arms around her for warmth. His eyes immediately looked her over, Hook stifling a moan at the sight of Belle in her lavender lace. She was an arresting sight, a vision in all that lace and velvet, and all Hook wanted to do was pick her up and carry her off to his private quarters. 

He just barely resisted that desire, the bully inside him controlled. For now, Hook's lids growing heavy as he watched Belle turn to the rail. Her pale skin bore the slightest signs of a flush, and her delicate little fingers did a white knuckled grip on the wood railing. She was embarrassed, and visibly angry, in addition to being afraid. Hook didn't have to wonder which feeling was the stronger emotion in the moment, the woman giving him a look of pure loathing as he settled against the rail next to her. 

His back to the rail and the sea, Hook for one second took his eyes off of Belle. He catch one or two interested stares from a crew member here and there, but at noticing his angry glower, those pirates quickly busied themselves with work. Only Kate dared to glare back, the woman scowling at him from across the deck. He didn't have to speak to her to know Kate didn't approve, the woman both concerned and bothered by his behavior. She wasn't the only one, but not many of his crew were brave enough to openly speak out. Especially when Hook radiated a dangerous mix of anger and lust, his thwarted desire quick and eager to make a target of any one in reach. Even Belle wasn't safe from becoming his victim, Hook almost helpless to NOT behave. He tried though, Hook reaching out to catch at her hair. Those long chestnut curls had the wind stirring through them, the pirate captain gently capturing a few of those silken locks between his fingertips. 

That much Belle allowed without flinching, the woman seeming intent on ignoring him completely. Hook brought that brown silk towards his face, the man inhaling the scent of her while strands of her hair were brushed almost reverently against his lips. She smelled like lilacs to him, Hook letting out a soothing sound with his breath. He caught her glance and arched a brow in mock challenge, Belle letting out an angry huff of air that almost rivaled his worst fury. 

"You never told me just what the queen wanted with you." 

"It's only fair." Belle retorted in a scalding tone of voice. "Because you have yet to explain your own actions." 

"What else is there left to explain?" Hook inquired, his voice in part silky seduction and hard steel. "I go after what I want, through fair means or foul." The upset in Belle's eyes flared in response, Hook giving her a mild grin as he continued to play with her hair. 

"How did you even find me?" Belle asked with a scoff of sound to punctuate that question. "The queen made certain..." She shook her head. "Everyone was either killed, controlled, or too blind to speak on what they might see..." 

"The evil queen certainly lived up to her title." Hook said in response. "Leaving a trail of bodies in her wake..." He saw how Belle closed her eyes in response at that, the woman distressed over the idea of the people the queen might have killed in her name. "But she didn't get everybody...." 

Her eyes snapped open at that. "Truly?" 

"Truly. It took some digging, but that is just one of the ways Mr. Smee comes in handy." 

"Mr. Smee?" Belle asked warily. "Another of your crew?" 

"He's an odd addition that one, but old Smee does have his uses. It's his talent you see..." Hook spoke as though confiding a great secret. "He can find just about anything, be it person, place or thing...." 

"Is he magic?" 

"Couldn't say." Hook said with a shrug. "But he found the trail...little by little...the queen couldn't kill every single person who had learned of her interest in you. Oh I am sure she tried, but those fliers were plastered all over the place. The people who survived, they remembered the search and the reward offered for any information leading to a capture. They remembered the face on the flier, and they certainly didn't forget just who was offering the reward." 

"Of course it was a reward none of them would live to spend." Hook continued. "So many dead because of her...." 

She shivered in response. "The queen is a monster. 

"Oh aye, she's a right terror...and her toy soldiers aren't much better..." 

"It's not their fault!" Belle exclaimed. "She has their hearts. The queen MAKES them do her evil...they are as innocent as anyone else she has had them hurt..." 

"You pity them?" Hook asked, watching carefully her reaction. "Even the ones who were your jailors?" 

"Of course I do!" Belle told him heatedly. "They were her puppets, unable to decide on their own. She gives a command, and it's inviolate, those men made to die in pursuit of her bidding." 

"And die they did..." Hook murmured, sparing little thought to the guardsmen he had help slay when raiding the queen's tower. "What was it like? Being her prisoner?" 

"Lonely." Was Belle's immediate answer. "I think I would have almost welcomed the queen's attention...if only for the chance to actually talk to someone and have them talk back!" 

"The guards....?" 

"Never came near me." Belle interrupted. "For a whole month's time, I only saw one person. An old woman that was near blind, and every day she would come to bring me some food. And every day she would outright ignore me!" 

"It was pure hell." Belle continued with a whisper. "No friends or real enemies, and nothing to do but idle away. I could have gone mad from the boredom alone, but the worst part.." She swallowed. "The worst part was knowing there was no rescue coming, that no one would bother to care." 

"Well, you were wrong about that." Hook murmured with a smile. 

"You don't care for me." Belle protested. "You only want to...want to use and to hurt me." 

"That's not true..." His was an uneasy denial. "I've never wanted to hurt you..." 

"But you'll do it all the same." She whispered, and he let her hair slip free of his fingers. Belle quickly tried to tuck it behind her ear, staring at him with a bleak expression. "You gave me my freedom and in the same second you took it away." 

He stared back at her, and his silence was a screaming affirmation of her words. Belle's eyes filled with an overwhelming sadness, the woman grimly accepting this much of her situation. 

"It...it doesn't have to be a hardship." He said. "I don't ask for much..." 

Her laugh was a bitter, choked out sound. "Not much you say?!" Belle scoffed. "When what you ask is just short of everything?! No captain, no...you are deluded if you truly think that!" 

"Then give me a chance!" He bit out in desperation. "Just one chance to..." 

"To what?" She interrupted him. "To let you hurt me?! As if I would ever willingly allow that!" 

Belle's challenge lingered between them, the air practically sizzling with her contempt. Hook was once again struck by how badly he had mishandled things, Belle so dead set against sex and especially sex with him. It made him angry, and it left Hook petulant, the man staring at her with fire in his eyes. In that moment he not only vowed to make her want him but to thoroughly ruin Belle for any other man. He'd see her desperate, and he would see her crazed, Hook ready to set her world ablaze with the desire he would awaken inside her. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

To Be Continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was..interesting. It didn't want to go the way I had imagined it. The chapter is very different from how I envisioned the scene on the deck, but when I sat down to try to write it out the words wouldn't obey, and I guess I ended up doing a lot of that free form/free style kind of writing.... 
> 
> Next chapter SHOULD be the celebration! *knock on wood* 
> 
> Laters! 
> 
> \---Michelle


	14. Fourteen

The night's celebration was the liveliest of affairs, with music and laughter filling the room. Belle drank in the sounds, both the laughter and the singing, and the sight of the pirates at their merry making wildest. They danced about the room, cheered each other on, and most of all they ate and drank with an appreciation to rival Belle's own. She greedily fed, not on the food so much as the people, their joy and vitality something that had been in short supply back at the queen's tower. 

Left starved by that experience, Belle now found herself in an exploding world of colors, sounds, even smells. It left her dazzled and entranced, the woman overcome with emotions. With a gratitude that bubbled up strong in the broken halves of her heart, the sincere expression of it resulting in a shy smile that made the pirates cheer. 

"To Belle!" They would say, raising their mugs up high in toast. Softer yet would be the voice to the left of her, a hand covering one of her own. 

"To Belle." Hook would murmur, his blue eyes intent on her own. She'd go still in response, Belle staring back at him with a wary kind of focus. His blue gaze seemed to pierce right through to inside her, all that dark heat and barely leashed desire making Belle shiver, her flesh prickling in unease the second before Hook bent his head towards hers. 

"Don't." She'd start to say, her low muted whisper of a protest lost to the roar of the partying pirates. To the sounds of their wild cheering her mouth was claimed, another kiss thoroughly stolen and with it went her smile, Belle trembling with a fight or flight reaction that she couldn't entirely control. The hand covering hers seemed to squeeze out a gentle warning, one her body just barely heeded. Her other arm still raised up, Belle pushing blindly against him and his chest. 

One touch and they were both scalded, Belle's fingers having grazed against warm exposed flesh rather than the shirt and the vest that should have covered it. Cold metal hooked around her thin wrist, that incendiary touch between them maintained. She was aware of gasping, and of Hook taking full advantage of that breathy exhale, his tongue boldly striking against hers. Her tongue seemed to flutter in weak response, it's buds exploding with the taste and texture of him. 

On the hot, velvet feel of him, Belle remembered rain soaked first kisses and their intoxicating, devastating effect. How they, HE, had made her reckless, Belle drunk off his lips and off the desire that they had expressed. She had been wild for it, for him, so desperate for the validation his lips had offered her. With his kisses burning sweet sensation through her, Belle had felt every inch of desired, with no room for the self doubt and the worries that Rumplestiltskin's rejection had birthed inside her. 

Temporarily free of it, and free of the doubts that had plagued her, Belle had lost herself to the moment. To the pirate, Belle half crazed by the attention, by the sensation of having kissed a man who had desired her back. Who had kissed her back, Hook having wanted her in a way that Rumplestiltskin had never. It hadn't been love and it hadn't held any semblance of affection, the pirate's lust some wild, savage thing. Caught up in it's spell, in the magic of the moment, Belle had simply wanted to feel, something, anything but the pain of a heart that had been shattered. 

She had gotten it too, the pirate making her feel wanted. Needed, Belle reading his desire and answering it with some of her own. With a voice hoarse with it, Belle had begged sweetly, not having wanted Hook to have stopped. The woman hadn't realized then that she had been playing with a fire that would burn her, the pirate doing exactly as she had begged. He hadn't stopped, and things had escalated out of control, Belle discovering the rest of him wasn't half as sweet and seductive as Hook's kisses had led her to believe. 

On the sharp hurting pain of her hymen ripping, and with every brutal thrust that had followed, the sweet cloud of kisses that had deluded her had broke, Belle awakening to her mistake a million moments too late. She had cried out in pain, had hung suspended between the pirate and the alley way's stone wall, Belle shaking and tortured for every hard inch of Hook's passion. Tormented by it, by him, Belle had looked into the pirate's desire blind eyes, and seen not an ounce of caring or concern, the man lost to his lust, to the very sensations that had been HURTING her. 

And with that hurt came the harshest of realizations, Belle having then understood that there were actually worse things to be had than a man's cold and cruel indifference. Infinitely worst was a man's interest, that hot brutal passion that stole all rhyme and sane reason, that had clouded even her own normally sound judgement. But never again, or so Belle had vowed, the woman determined to never again allow herself to be so manipulated and used. 

It was an easy enough vow to make. Her brief exposure to misguided love and to an even more misguided lust had left Belle soured on men. On intimacy, the woman frightened and ever so wary, aware of the hurt that both love and lust could and had done to her. Their scars criss crossed invisible all over her heart, Belle hurting and in pain, and still she was not blind to the artful play of Hook's lips over her own. Their firm feel, the unyielding pressure that was so quick to take advantage of her own sighs, Belle could readily understand how a less experienced girl would have fallen, the pirate's kiss the ultimate in seduction's sweet lies. 

Even knowing what she now did, her own lips still trembled in barely restrained response, but she didn't actually kiss him back. It didn't seem to much matter, Hook taking what little she did give him, and building upon it tenfold. Burning her, branding her, his mouth a hot living flame, Belle was crying out before she could stop herself, catching a glimpse of smug blue before her own eyes slid shut again. Embarrassed heat filled her, Belle mortified and furious, angry with Hook and angry with herself for the sound she had just made. 

It was a sound that had harkened them both back to the night in that alleyway, to a memory of a time when Belle hadn't fought Hook's kisses, but had eagerly welcomed them. Then too she had cried out, moaning and mewling with need and with excitement, the untried sweetness of her kiss firing his lust up, his boiling blood stealing all reason and good sense from his head. He had willfully blinded himself to the reality of her inexperience, letting his own lust guide him into taking what he had wanted, needed from her. And not even her pained sounds had been enough to get him to consider stopping, Hook too uncaring, too selfish to give up the tight, clinging feel of her and the peace that had followed. 

In a way his actions of that night were among one of his greatest regrets. That of the damage done, not just to Belle, but to his chances with her, the woman terrified of him and of the idea of sex. There was no disservice greater than what he had done them both, and if this situation had been ordinary, Hook would have granted Belle's wish and given up on her. But it wasn't, and he couldn't, Hook needing Belle in ways that he couldn't quite make sense of, but recognized all the same. 

His mind blessedly free of the grief that had plagued him for some three hundred years, Hook knew Belle as that vital something he had been needing and missing. And that alone was all the reason Hook needed to justify keeping her and even terrorizing her. To commit sin after sin against her, Hook using Belle to keep him functioning long enough to do what he HAD to. For good or for bad, an attempt needed to be made, so much more than just revenge at stake here but also the safety and future of a whole ship full of people. 

Those very people partied around them, the celebration's outward appearance that of a crew who had no real worries or fears. And for one night, it might have been true, all concerns and fears pushed aside to live in this moment. Just as he tried to do the same, Hook pushing aside his own thoughts and frustrations to focus on the here and now. 

With his mouth pressing firmly against hers, Hook felt Belle's response, the slight tremble of her lips as the beauty tried to resist the artful expertise of the pirate's kiss. That she wasn't as immune to him as Belle would have liked, only emboldened Hook further, the man biting down on her bottom lip, a gentle nip that brought her gasping into his mouth, and her fingers curling in place on his chest. 

He felt the dig of her nails into his skin and it only served to excite him rather than to deter him. His head swam with the erotic imaginings of just what he wanted to do to her, the pirate letting go of Belle's hand to hook his arm about her waist. He felt her startled reaction, felt the way she tried to resist him, Hook hauling Belle forward. 

With little to no effort shown on his part, Belle found herself easily displaced from her seat. Her legs spread around his in an awkward straddle, the soft skin of her thighs touching against the harsh fabric of the leather of his trousers. That same leather touched against the lace fabric of her panties, and with it came a jolt of sensation. Her hips automatically jerked backwards in response, her lace covered skin feeling scalded in turn at the drag of her body against his. Hook clearly felt it too, as evidenced by the way his eager lips began moving with a fevered intensity that surpassed any of his earlier efforts. 

It made her head spin, the near suffocating effect of his kisses and his nearness, heightened by Belle's worries and fears, the woman wondering if Hook even remembered they were not alone, or if he simply didn't care. She had sudden visions of him throwing her down onto the table, that of Hook taking her right there, right now, while his crew of pirates cheered. An already erratic heart beat thundered in her ears, Belle's skin flushing a mortified red as she began a fitful squirming that seemed to accomplish nothing save to rub both their groins together. 

Her breath caught in her throat at that, the sensations brought up by her flesh grinding against his not wholly unpleasant. It was unwelcome all the same, Belle letting out the softest of displeased sounds, a distressed mewling that couldn't be heard over the roar of the party. Little could, including the sound of approaching footsteps, Belle caught completely unaware when a body bumped into them. Cold liquid splattered thick on her skin, a surprised sound letting loose from her throat. 

"I am SO sorry!" gasped a woman's voice that sounded anything but apologetic. Belle opened her eyes at the precise moment that Hook growled Kate's name, and never had the beauty been more relieved to see another pirate than she was now. 

"Oh but begging your pardon Captain. You KNOW what a klutz I can be when I've had a few drinks in me." Kate made a theatrical show of shaking her head no. "All but lose my sea legs I'm afraid." 

"You're in danger of losing a lot more than your footing if the look on the captain's face is anything to judge by!" A man called out to the uproarious laughter of the crowd. Belle glanced away from Kate to see for herself the look on Hook's face. His blue eyes were bright with enough anger that it left Belle worried for Kate. 

"It was an accident." Belle said, touching Hook's arm in an attempt to draw his attention away from Kate. It worked too, that furious look softening slightly, as Hook frowned at Belle. "No real harm done." 

"Oh but look at the mess I've made of you!" Kate protested. "But don't worry captain, I'll get her clean and dried off." 

"Good idea." said another woman in a brisk tone of voice. She had a heavy tray balanced on her arm, and was setting plates of food down on the table. "You don't want the ale to have time to set in and stain that pretty dress of hers." 

"That's right we don't." agreed Kate, already having reached for Belle's arm. She found herself guided effortlessly off Hook's lap, the captain reacting just a tad too slow when it came to stopping Kate in this. 

"Kate!" Hook snapped with a snarl, and just as abruptly, his growl was cut off. Belle glanced over her shoulder in time to see that the woman with the tray was standing in front of the pirate, a hand on one hip as she told him a terse tone that would brooked little argument that they needed to TALK. 

She then nearly stumbled, for Kate hadn't stopped moving, her grip on Belle's arm dragging the beauty forward. "Don't worry." Kate spoke with calm certainty. "Philomina can more than handle him." 

"Philomina?" Belle's brow furrowed as she remembered something Hook had said to her earlier. "The cook?" 

"Among other things, yes." 

"Ah...." Belle murmured, wondering what those other things were. "Thank you by the way." A pause but Kate didn't fill the silence with a response. "But aren't you worried he'll...he'll retaliate?" 

"What is there to retaliate against?" Kate asked in a far too innocent tone. "Was nothing more than an accident." 

"I don't think your captain sees it that way at all." Belle pointed out with a shiver. "That look on his face..." 

"I've seen him wear worst." Kate tone softened in reassurance. "Don't worry Belle. He's not going to throw me off his ship just over a little spilled ale." 

She sincerely hoped Kate was right about that, but Belle also knew enough to recognize it was more than just a spilled drink that Hook was so angry about. She shivered anew, the memory of his thwarted desire bringing the mortified blush blooming bright in her face. Everyone had surely seen, and worst yet was the knowledge that no one but Kate and perhaps the cook Philomina, had cared enough to put a stop to their captain's outlandish behavior. 

Belle's knees suddenly shook, the woman stumbling as Kate turned to steady her. "Easy does it." She whispered to Belle under her breath. "Keep your head held high and we'll be out of here soon enough." 

Belle gave a slight nod of her head, and somehow managed to keep upright until after Kate had led her out onto the ship's deck. Her knees hit the wood floorboards, Belle fighting not to start crying. She heard Kate murmur something softly, the female pirate kneeling besides Belle, a hand on the beauty's back as the woman tried to comfort the nearly sobbing female. She didn't once try to lie to Belle and say it would all be all right, both of them already knowing better where Hook and his desires were concerned. 

Instead Kate stayed kneeling besides her, that soothing hand rubbing circles on Belle's back. "There there..." Kate murmured. "You have my permission AND my approval to hit him all you want." 

Belle let out a choked sound, a kind of half sob, half laugh as she glanced towards Kate wide eyed. "I don't think that would go over well with the rest of the crew." 

"Is THAT why you didn't slap him?" Kate asked with a frown. "Belle, honey, no one would have blamed you if you had. Not with him acting that way!" Kate sighed in response to Belle's shocked reaction. "No one is going to begrudge you trying to defend yourself or your virtue..." 

"But aren't they loyal to Hook?" Belle asked. 

"Well...yes." Kate allowed. "But it's more than just loyalty. We're a family, and family doesn't stand idle when one of our own gets too out of line. Even if he is the captain. Oh Belle, I wish you could have met him before...." 

"Before?" questioned Belle softly, watching the shadows take over Kate's expression. 

"He's been through a lot. We all have." Was Kate's answer. "We've seen more tragedy and trouble in our lifetime than most, and the captain has borne the brunt of it all." 

"It doesn't excuse how he's been acting towards me." muttered Belle. 

"No it doesn't." Agreed Kate. "And it's why I know...know that once he's back to his sane thinking self, he'll regret it the things he's done." 

"Sane thinking self?" Belle blinked, and allowed Kate to guide her up off the deck's floor. 

"Seems impossible doesn't it?" Kate gave a solemn grin. "But once he gets past all that guilt and grief..." 

"He doesn't seem to suffer from either!" Belle interrupted. 

"I'll allow that much." Kate nodded. "Hook hasn't had much use for his grief ever since that night he first met you." 

"Me?!" Her cheeks heated with her blush, Kate studying her now. 

"You're changing him, Belle. Little by little...." But Kate didn't say if it was a good change, or a bad change and Belle was inclined to lean towards the latter. 

"I wish I had never had the misfortune to meet him!" Belle suddenly spat. 

"It's your choice to feel that way." retorted Kate. "But I can't help but hope you'll weather through the worst of the storm with him. It would do you BOTH a lot of good." 

"Both?!" Belle sputtered aghast. 

"Don't you think I haven't seen it?" Kate asked. "The haunted look in your eyes, that despair that fills so many of your expressions?" 

"What's my private pain have to do with anything?" Belle demanded guardedly. 

"Nothing." Kate sighed, and turned away. "Nothing except it's the same exact look that Hook used to wear." 

"Used to?" Belle managed after a moment's pause. "But not anymore...." She stopped up short, mulling it over. Hook had been many things ever since he had arrived in her cell at the Evil Queen's tower, but despairing and grief stricken hadn't been one of them. And certainly not to the level he had shown when at the tavern of about a month ago. Now instead, he was all lust, and pent up desire, frustrated and desperate, and equal parts frightening and demanding. 

Belle didn't know what to make of this change in Hook, and she certainly didn't want to believe that she herself was the catalyst for it. And yet she couldn't deny that that heart breaking grief was gone, replaced by something equally as devastating. 

"He can have any woman he wants." Belle muttered as she followed Kate towards Hook's private cabin. 

"Oh and he has!" Kate said with an unconcerned laugh. "But none of them were YOU." 

"I...I'm nothing special!" Belle protested and meant it. 

"That kind of self depreciation is not something I want to be hearing from you!" Kate was fierce then, practically glaring at Belle in reproach. Belle actually found herself muttering a soft apology in reply, Kate instantly relaxing at hearing it. 

"Now that we're understood..." Kate said, and opened the cabin's door. "What say we get you changed and cleaned up?" 

She could only nod in return, Belle hardly eager to return to the party. But worse yet would be to remain in Hook's cabin, with the creeping awareness that as the night grew late so too would the inevitable time of reckoning draw near. Belle didn't know how she was going to survive it, or if it was even possible to. 

\--------------------------

To be Continued....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh where to begin. I had the first 7 kB of this chapter written over two months ago, but I got super stuck on how to continue right after Belle made that sound. I had wanted the chapter to be an all Belle POV..but finally I had to sneak in some of a Hook POV to be able to continue from where I was stuck. 
> 
> This is actually the second draft of the chapter...I had a much different version that absolutely sucked, though some of the things expressed in it, may be used in chapter 15 between Hook and Philomina instead of in a conversation between Hook and Belle. I am also kind of disappointed I had to spread the celebration to another chapter...I am SO eager for months now to get to a scene I had planned after the party was over. But now I worry the scene won't get to happen the way I've been dying to write it, cause it depends on how the Hook Philomina lecture goes. 
> 
> This chapter really deviated big time from my notes, but I can't be too upset about it. Also...I have a lot going on my offline life, which has made it extremely hard to find the peace and quiet needed to write. I don't want to get into all that is going on, but one of the things I will tell you is my mom fell down, fractured/broke her pelvic area, in addition to needing stitches in her arm, and staples in her back. 
> 
> In more pleasant news...sorta..I have been giving deep thought to the idea of restarting the Hook Belle story Restraint from scratch. I'm hesitant to start though, cause of all the drama and craziness going on in my life, but also I am aware if I were to rewrite it to fix a lot of my errors, it would end up a vastly different, darker story. I have such a love hate relationship with Restraint... 
> 
> I also have as always a million ideas, and am all grr growly that six or months have gone by and I still haven't started one idea in particular. Make that two. One would be a multi chapter Hook Belle, and the other idea is meant to be a naughty one shot that could be expanded into a multi chapter idea. But things have been so busy and hectic I've barely had a chance to myself to work on my existing Once stories, let alone start new ones....X_X 
> 
> So right now I am gonna try to concentrate on updating the existing ones. Cannot promise consistent updates, especially because of the situations with my mom... 
> 
> Hope there are still Captain Beauty fans out there who are reading this! Thanks and laters!
> 
> \---Michelle


	15. Fifteen

There was few things that could compare to having heaven ripped free of your arms. Getting your hand chopped off was one of them. Watching your love's heart be crushed into nothing more than dust was another. The near violent intensity of the emotions that had hit him as Kate tore Belle free of his hold, should have left Hook staggered with shock. But he was beyond thinking, beyond caring of anything except that the warm, living feel of her was gone, Belle forcibly stolen away, and that the pirate lass Kate was the reason.

An already livid expression became absolutely furious, the blue of his eyes like the most brittle of steel. It fit the sound of his voice, Kate's name nothing more than a snarl hissed between Hook's teeth. That furious anger propelled him upright and forward, Hook intent on the pirate, and on the woman she dragged along behind her. That same anger left him nearly senseless, Hook's world narrowed down in focus to only what was in front of him. Which wasn't much, as many were getting out of the way, leaving a clear path for him to chase after the two women. 

"We need to TALK." The cook that had stepped out in front of him was nearly barreled over for her interference. Almost but not quite, the pirate Philomina staring Hook down with an impressive glower all her own. Those eyes that could be so warm were now unyielding with their disapproval, and Philomina's rigid stance before him brought Hook to a complete stop. It wasn't just the woman's anger that got through to Hook on some level. It was what she carried, that thick heavy slab of metal that served as a tray. He just barely dodged it in time, the metal of the tray resounding with a loud clanging echo as it bounced off his raised arm. 

"We need to talk." The woman repeated, resting one hand on her hip. The other hand continued to hold the slightly dented metal, Philomina looking for all the world like she was considering bringing that tray against her captain's head a second time. 

"Talk?" It was a wary agitation that laced through his voice, and an arch of his right eyebrow spoke of his impatience. Philomina would have none of it, her head bobbing up and down in a firm nod. 

"Don't be thinking for a second I won't hesitate to clobber you with this." For all her anger, Philomina spoke in a deceptively calm tone of voice. "It might even knock some sense into that thick skull of yours!" 

It was more likely to give him a concussion than anything, Hook eyeing the woman and the heavy tray that she carried. "You don't need to go that far to gain my undivided attention." The cook snorted in reply. 

"If I have it, it's only because Kate got that poor girl you were molesting out of the room." Her tone was chiding, Philomina's frown stopping just short of being a scowl. "Honestly captain, just what is going on with you?" 

"What ever do you mean?" He asked in a level tone of voice. "There's nothing strange about a pirate taking what he wants." 

"There is when that pirate is YOU!" snapped Philomina. With her left hand on her hip, Philomina used her right one to wave the tray in an encompassing gesture. "You've never been one to force yourself so fully on a woman." 

"But then the captain's never had a woman that could say no to him for long." A male voice called out, to the nervous sound of a close few's quiet laughter. 

"Jacob has a point." Another pirate, a female one, muttered. "Sorry Captain, but it's been the God's honest truth for some three hundred years now!" 

The faint tingling warmth that was the memory of Belle's lips on his own, couldn't compete with the heat that slowly crept up his neck in response to his crew's comments. 

"No." Hook said out loud. "No, we are not doing this. I am NOT having this kind of conversation with you, with any of you." 

"I don't remember giving you a choice in the matter." Philomina pointed out with a warning wave of her tray. "And don't be giving me that look OR that attitude! If I act, it's only to stop you from bungling things any further with the young miss." 

It was a case of too little, too late as far as Hook was concerned, and such a thought was betrayed in the guilty light that gleamed to life in his blue eyes. Philomina frowned to see it, the woman stepping even closer to Hook, to grip hold of his arm. He was treated to the brown of her eyes studying his, the woman's frown deepening as she read plainly his sin on his face. 

A hiss of displeasure escaped her, and then a wave of her tray was dismissing the crew around them, Philomina dragging Hook off to a darkened corner of the hall. His curious crew was slow to return to their partying ways, their celebration colored by the uneasy mood that had since been established. More than a few glances were cast his way, but the shadows hid the expression on his face well enough. 

"Thank you." He said gruffly to Philomina, for having pulled him away from what might have been the group's effort at an intervention. 

"I didn't do it for you." She murmured in a low, scathing tone. "I did it for that poor girl, that Belle. Lord knows she has ENOUGH problems, without our broadcasting her complete disgrace to everyone on board the ship." 

He could only slowly nod his head in agreement. "You're right about that..." 

"Of course I am!" That prim toned agreement might have once made Hook smile. Now it was all he could do not to flinch in response at hearing it. "I'm often right about a lot of things, including what that look in your eyes mean." The shadowed figure of the woman had Philomina wagging a finger in Hook's face. "You've had to have done something absolutely wicked if you think it's all but hopeless with that girl." 

Hook shifted back a step but there was no escaping that admonishing tone, or the guilt and worse yet, the resignation that flared to life inside him. "It is." It was curt as an answer, Hook making Philomina work for the explanation she so clearly wanted. 

"And WHY is that?!" Philomina demanded. 

"Surely you've seen the way she reacts." Hook muttered. "And on the off chance you were too busy to notice, I am sure Kate or any of a dozen others would be glad to fill you in." 

"Oh ah, Kate has given me an earful." Philomina nodded. "But even if she hadn't, I've eyes of my own to see that the girl is scared of you. Absolutely terrified. And not many could blame her, what with you pawing at her like Belle is some common street whore!" 

The heat flared hotter in his skin, Hook able to at least to himself acknowledge that he hadn't been treating Belle with the kind of care and respect a lady like her surely deserved. But then he hadn't from the start, Hook using her, and in one of the cruelest ways possible. 

"It's too late..." 

"It's almost never too late!" Philomina hissed in interuption. 

"In this case it is..." Hook insisted, only to feel Philomina smacking his chest with her tray. 

"And so that excuses you doing as you please? Abandoning your morals? Terrorizing a girl?!" She scoffed then. "No evil unjustified so long as there's no chance?" 

"A chance of what?" Hook wanted to know. "Belle is scared of me. She might even hate me. She definitely doesn't want to have anything to do with me." 

"That still doesn't give you any right...." 

"Don't you think I know that?!" Hook bit out the words louder then he had wanted to, his voice stopping just short of an angry scream. "But what else am I to do?!" 

His shout would have had to be louder to come close to frightening a woman like the pirate cook Philomina. Her shadowy form had both her hands back on her hips, the woman shaking her head. 

"You could try charming the girl." 

"I've already tried to seduce my way into her bed." Hook heard the heavy put upon sigh the cook let out. "What?" He asked guardedly. 

"I said charm not seduce. Few women could resist a proper and earnest a courting." 

"I don't have TIME to devote to a courtship." Hook retorted. 

"You've nothing but time for something--someone as important as this!!" Philomina was both angry and encouraging in tone. Hook could only stare at her shadow darkened figured, the woman sighing. "For Belle, who you've risked so much for...who your whole crew has risked for..." 

"Aye and for that I am sorry." Hook admitted. "For dragging you all into another one of my messes..." 

"The Evil Queen cant be any worse than the Dark One." answered Philomina. "And we'd all agree it's worth it, provided you don't hurt and mistreat Belle any further." 

"But I will." He abruptly stated, slapping the tray that came at him with his hook. The two metals made a loud reverberating clang of noise, and then the tray clattered to silence on the floor. "What's more, I'll hurt her WORSE if I do as you suggest." 

"How can courting her hurt more than just taking what you want from her?" Philomina wondered out loud, making no move to retrieve the tray from off the floor. 

"I can't be making ANYONE fall in love with me." Hook retorted. "Not when I still have a crocodile to skin." 

"Oh....oh captain." She sounded sad now, as did the heavy sigh that escaped her. "I...-we had thought when you had gone after Belle...that maybe..." 

"Maybe what?" Hook asked with a hoarse laugh that held no real humor to it. "That I had abandoned my revenge? Even if I HAD, the fact remains, that in order for the others to be able to survive in this realm, the Dark One HAS to die." 

"Yes but...but it doesn't mean you have to die with him." Philomina pointed out. 

"Oh I am sorry." He couldn't help but be snide now. "I wasn't aware another way had been found? Or do you know of someone willing to take my place when the final blow is dealt?" 

"No, damn you, no! But we can still find a way. We just need more time." 

"We have spent over three hundred years looking for the way that we DO have. And no one is all that eager to return to Neverland, especially not you." Hook said. When Philomina said nothing, Hook took it to mean the discussion was closed and over with, and turned to walk away. He'd get two steps out of the shadows before Philomina's hand on his arm pulled him back again. 

"Then tell me why?" She muttered. "What reason did we do this all for?" 

"Reason?" Hook repeated, his eyes seeking out the forms of a newly returned Kate and Belle. The beauty had changed out of her damp lavender lace, into a dress of the palest buttery yellow color. It was just as fetching on her as the lavender had been, and clung just as tight in all the right ways to Belle's breasts and her slim waist. 

The lust that was never far from him, reared up inside him, his blue eyes practically feverish with a burning desire. Only the feel of Philomina's nails digging into his leather clad arm, stopped Hook from imemdately stalking over to Belle. 

"What reason do I do anything for?" He didn't have to see Philomina's face, to guess that she was frowning, the woman mulling it over, trying to find meaning to his words. 

"You've never been motivated by greed..." She began. "And I can only think of two things that are more valuable than gold..." She hesitated. "Love and..." 

"And peace." Hook supplied when Philomina faltered. He didn't dare take his eyes off the form of Belle, as though fearing the beautiful woman might disappear for good this time. She didn't, instead being led by Kate over to a small group of women who were all smiles as they welcomed Belle into their fold. He watched her interact with them, see the way she didn't quite smile, a haunted, hunted look shadowing the blue of her eyes instead. 

"Peace..." He heard Philomina breath out from besides him. 

"That night in the alley..." He said in a low tone of voice meant only for Philomina's ears. "She made the pain go quiet in my head." 

Philomina was quiet for several seconds. "I can see why you'd value her then." 

"Can you? Can you really?" Hook demanded, still staring at Belle from across the room. 

"Of course I can, captain. We've all seen the effect Mila's murder has had on you...." She was still holding onto Hook's arm. "But..." 

"But?" He questioned sharply. 

"It's not a true peace Belle has given you. Not with you as obsessed as you are...." Philomina's tone was as gentle as she could make it. 

"This carnal obsession is loads better than any of the heart sickening grief I have suffered with!" Hook retorted. 

"For you, perhaps. But for her? It AND you will only leave her all the worst hurt for it..." Philomina's voice took on a gentle urging tone. "Captain, please....tread carefully. Not just for her sake, but yours as well." 

"It's already too late for that..." He was as stubborn as he was resolved. 

"It doesn't need to be...if you..." 

"If I what?" Hook interrupted Philomina. "My heart is broken...and so is hers. There's no chance for a happy ending, or love, or whatever it is you might be imagining. There is only existing, coping long enough to do what must be done..." 

"Coping..." echoed Philomina, as Hook shrugged free of her hand's hold. "COPING!?" Her voice went louder, Hook almost flinching to hear it. "We didn't help you go after Belle just so you could cope long enough to get yourself killed!!" 

"Then it's all on you, as far as mistakes go." Hook retorted in a cold tone of voice. 

"Oh aye....we've all made mistakes. But I'd wager all the jewels on this ship that you're making the even bigger one." Philomina hissed. 

"Oh?" 

"Because there's something at play here. And there's something special about that Belle, about the effect she has had on you. And so what if you don't realize it right now...once you're no longer so blinded by your lust and overcome by this newfound peace of yours, when you do realize it...you're going to regret it. Regret it and HATE yourself for it. Worse than you ever did the Dark One!" 

"Impossible." Hook tried to scoff, but on some level he was shaken by the cook's words. 

"Are you willing to risk it?" She challenged. "Because second chances don't come around very often....never mind a third shot at love." 

His back stiffened at that. "It's not love." Hook insisted. 

"And again, what if it IS?" 

"We barely know each other..." Hook retorted. 

"That didn't seem to stop you from going after her!" Philomina exclaimed. "From endlessly obsessing for roughly a months' time on that need of yours for her." 

"I already told you why...!" Snapped Hook. 

"Oh yes, your vaunted peace, the reason you think is responsible for this new found insanity. But that's not why we helped you. And yes, maybe we are just as mistaken as you say we are, but that doesn't stop the crew from wanting what is best for you. From wanting you to be happy." 

"A true happiness is beyond my grasp...." He protested. 

"Or maybe it's closer than you think!" Philomina retorted. "Captain, all I'm asking is that you...you try to be good. Try to behave somewhat around her. No...not just behave, I want you to be open to the possibility of more from Belle than just what is between her legs." 

"And if I won't?" 

"Aside from the respect you'll lose...? Well there is no one who can hate themselves harder than the one who has gone and thrown away all chance at their own happiness." This time when Philomina moved, it was to pick the tray up off the floor. 

"Do..." Hook hesitated, his eyes still on Belle. "Do you really think there is a chance, slight as it may be...?" 

"Three hundred years is a long enough time for any heart to heal." replied Philomina, who then walked past him. Hook stayed half in the shadows, the sounds of the party all around him. There was still an underlying tension to the laughter, a nervousness that had never quite gone away. There might have even been the occasional glance towards the corner where Hook stood, but the pirate captain was oblivious to everything but the sight with which his eyes feasted upon. Belle, the beauty dazzling even with her fear, the woman speaking quietly in answer to something another pirate had said. The women around her continued to smile, even laugh, and Kate was pushing a mug of some drink into Belle's unresisting hands. 

He'd watch as she took a tentative sip of the drink, Belle almost choking on that first taste. He wasn't anywhere close enough to hear what Kate was saying, but he could make out the words read off her lips, the female pirate telling Belle she would get used to the taste. Belle gave her a doubting look of disbelief, that had uproarious laughter sounding from the women, and more than one seemed to be encouraging Belle to try again. Hook felt their disappointment when she did not, the man unable to keep from thinking things might be easier tonight if Belle were to get drunk. 

It might have been just wishful thinking on his part, Hook still deluded enough to think if he could just seduce her, just show Belle the pleasurable side of sexual intimacy, the woman would then get over her fears. He knew enough to know that probably wasn't going to happen while Belle was awake and sober, not with the level of fear and trepidation she had shown him earlier. But equally strong was the strength of HIS desire, the lust thrumming through him, and Hook didn't know how he could do what Philomina had asked. Not when he wanted this badly, Hook's starved expression at last drawing the notice of Belle. She'd look at him, and even from across the room, he'd see how she'd pale, and how Belle would instinctively step closer to Kate for protection. 

He'd fight to keep his jaw from clenching in response, Hook grabbing at a mug of his own. It was fresh water he downed with abandon, anything else would have courted disaster of the worst kind. Not that it didn't already loom on the horizon, but there was no need to make things even worse than they need be for the beauty. His course almost surely decided, Hook still hesitated at the stray, traitorous thought in his head. A thought that hissed what if there had been some truth to what Philomina had been saying. Just as loud was his carnal desire, his lust making it's demand known. The two argued inside him, Hook wondering if there really was such a thing as a second shot at love. The frightened look in Belle's eyes as she watched him screamed that it was already too late, that he had used up all his chances. And still the struggle continued, Hook hesitating in place as he wondered what he would ultimately end up doing. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

To Be Continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one wrote itself faster than the last one! Yay! Except when it got time to end it. Then I got major stuck on ending paragraphs. Think it's kinda obvious too... 
> 
> Life is still hectic, but I am still plugging away at my fics. X_X Slowly but surely. 
> 
> Not much else to say...still got to spellcheck and proofread! 
> 
> Laters! 
> 
> Michelle


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